Black and White: Lost memories
by Akeryu
Summary: Ara and Ru found themselves in Konoha without any memories and became each other bestfriend. The search for their past led them to become shinobis and to meet other people who gradually became part of their new lives. However, there is no rest for the ones who became shinobis. Story started a few years before the third ninja war. OCs as MCs, friendship focus, genin team, war period
1. The Amnesia

Hi there,

This is the first story I've ever written seriously, so please be considered. English is also not my mother language so I hope my terrible lack of vocabularies won't impact your reading.

The main characters will be two OCs, Kushina and Shisui. I want this story to be, first of all, an adventure and friendship one. But there will also be some drama, some angst (maybe ?) and romance (only way later).

Also I edited a part around the end of the chapter, for the plot sake.

I do not own Narutoverse or any Naruto characters. They belong to Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Amnesia**

_The memory of what is not maybe better than the amnesia of what is._

.

"Sweet child, how about introducing yourself to us ?" a woman asked with an inviting smile.

Ara looked up to the lady who just spoke to her. Rika is the caretaker of the Eastern orphanage of Konoha. She is a brown haired woman in her early thirties and kind eyes along with a few wrinkles on her face to accentuate the end of her youth. It is a common look, for the girl at least.

She turned her head around to face a crowd of children, silently waiting for her to say something. An uncomfortable feeling ran through her body as she found herself highly disturbed under so many gazes. There are many of them, too many of them, of all kind, boys and girls with various hairs colors and different height, and they are all like her: homeless, parentless and alone.

With a hand running through her black hairs, she was awkwardly scratching her head, trying to think about what she can say. But what could she say about herself ? According to Rika, Ara's hometown was ravaged in a battle between shinobis. Everything there was destroyed, she and another girl whose name is Ru, became its sole survivors. Not wanting such young and innocent children to die because of their own conflicts, out of pity, some Konoha ninjas picked them up and brought them back to the village. At first, she was doubtful about all these informations because none of what the woman told her rang a single bell.

But it didn't took her long enough before she realized that, in fact, she couldn't recall anything. Prior her arrival to this residence, she didn't remember even one thing outside of her name. Who is she ? Who were her parents ? Did she have siblings ? What life had she lived ? What kind of child was she ? What did her village look like ? Heck, what was even its name ? Many questions raised in her head but she didn't have an answer to even one of them. Her very first memory was of an earlier event, this morning when she woke up in this unfamiliar place.

Rika explained that her memory lost is probably a backlash from the horrible trauma she faced. She then proceed to talk, for at least fifteen minutes, about psychology and the medical knowledges behind it. Ara suspected the woman to prefer a job in the medical area rather than being a caretaker as she sounded so passionate about the subject. Anyway, the point was that, when facing a shock way too big for a person to handle, the brain can willingly lose its memories as a self-defense. The woman spoke so much like an expert that the child just took it for granted. Because in the end, it is not like she had something to oppose her explanation.

"Dear, are you still with us ?" Ara slightly startled as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was spacing out when Rika and the other children were still waiting for her to speak up. "Come on, say something so we can move on to lunch." the woman added.

Staring back to the crowd, she suddenly felt envious of them. Compared to them, she is a nobody. A blank shell. She doesn't have any ideas of who she is, she doesn't have any memories to hold on to and she doesn't know, not even for the sake of presenting herself, her age.

So, at last, she decided that she won't bother to introduce herself. Because she didn't have anything to say.

"Hi everyone !" A loud voice raised up from her right. Ara shifted her head to meet the speaker, a girl with short white hairs and maybe around her (although unknown) age judging by her small fame. She walked passed her with a big grin on her face. "My name is Ru, I don't remember my last name. I arrived here yesterday and I came from a village close to the western border of the land of fire. It was destroyed in a batte and Rika told me that I lost every memories I had before my arrival in Konoha. I hope we all will get along and become friends !" Her smile grew even bigger that her lips almost touched her ears. A few hand claps rose around the room and the other children face lighten up thanks to the Ru's cheerful attitude. With the smile still on her face, the white haired girl shifted around to face her with big cerulean eyes as blue as a cloudless day sky. It was unfair how beautiful her eyes color is, compared to her own ordinary brown eyes. "I was told that we are from the same village. What's your name ?"

"Ara." She replied, almost whispering. "I also don't remember my last name."

"That's a beautiful name ! Let be friend ok ?" Ara was certain that none of her current priorities is to make friends but she couldn't say no. Not when this girl looked so bright with a smile that spread hundred of positive radiants.

"Sure." She ended up answering.

.

At first, the black haired girl was eager to eat her first meal. She wondered what kind of food she used to like. Was she a meat or a vegetable person ? Did she like it sweet or salty ? Was she a big eater ? What if she was a meat fetish before but then, under the memory loss, she becomes a vegetable lover ? Does it actually work that way ? To her regret, the lunch only taught her that eggs taste horrible.

But even the unpleasant savor of an egg didn't feel as bad as what happened afterward.

Sitting alone on a bench next to the corner of the playground field, she was going to spend the afternoon enjoying the summer day. Laying her back against the wicker with closed eyes, Ara took time to think about her situation and the informations she has. Everything about this story feels odd. She didn't take the caretaker for a liar but, to her, it felt strange that a ninja village would accept strangers to their 'hidden' home just because they are children. How could they be sure that she and Ru aren't spies from some other countries ? Her train of thought didn't go farther as three girls decided that the lonely girl needed company and approached her for a talk.

At the beginning, it was nothing gruesome as they were just presenting themselves. Sachiko, a nine year old girl with light brown hairs, is the tallest of them. She entered the orphanage five years ago after her parents death. Ayaka and Chiyori are twin sisters who share the same blond hairs and green eyes. They are four and Ara couldn't tell any differences between them. She felt slightly annoyed when they mentioned their age because she still doesn't know her own. The talk was bearable until she became the subject of the discussion.

"By the way, you are pretty cute Ara, and your hairs are very pretty, I'm so jealous !" Sachiko shouted out while brushing her hairs as if she was a doll.

"Thanks but you shouldn't. It is just hairs." she replied, pushing the older girl's hands away uncomfortably.

"How old are you ?" Ayaka asked.

Of course, it had to be that question.

"I don't know. I don't remember anything except my name." she answered, dryly.

"Oh, so you're like Ru ! Have you met her before ?" Chiryo added.

Do they even speak the same language ?

"No. I just told you I don't remember anything."

It was getting tired to repeat the same thing.

"Now come to think about it, Ru is very cute too and you two are from the same village !" Ayaka added.

"Girls, I think we should-" Sachiko was trying to say something but Chiyori cut her out.

"I know right ? Are everyone from your village that cute too ?"

Geez, can they just stop ? Ara felt like her head will explode if one of the twins mentions the word 'village' again.

"My village doesn't exist anymore. And for the last time, I don't remember anything. I have an amnesia !" she snapped, clearly losing all of her patient.

"What do you mean you don't remember anything ? What is an amnesia ? How can you forget everything ?"

At this point, the now angry girl stopped caring about which twin was talking.

"It means that I don't-" Why does she even bother anymore ? "You know what, nevermind it, stop bothering me !"

Ara stood up and walked away from them. She didn't want to hear any of those questions again or someone (more likely her) will end up badly. Stupid. They are stupid.

And that was her first and only interaction with the other children for the two weeks to come.

.

Dinner couldn't come faster.

Rika was pleased by Ru's enthusiastic behavior. The caretaker couldn't stop smiling at the sight of the white haired girl befriending half of the orphanage this afternoon. And she was still grinning right now because Ru was doing the same thing to the other half. Meanwhile, Ara was eating at the corner of the room, alone. All the attention was on her townmate. Everyone in the room went to her table, to welcome or to talk to her, and the newcomer would automatically reply and smile in return. She spent an hour observing the scene and felt more and more triggered as time passed by.

No, she wasn't jealous or anything. On the contrary, Ara prefered it that way. All the gazes were on the white head while she was on her own, thinking, isolated from whatever distractions. The girl couldn't explain it but Ru is unnaturally cheerful for a girl who lost her hometown less than a month ago. She didn't know how she can act like nothing happened. They got the same share of informations, at least Ara supposed that Rika told the same story to both of them. Yet, if she was to believe what she saw till now, it didn't seem to affect Ru, at all.

She wanted to speak to Ru. She didn't want to question her about her behavior. Actually, the black haired girl couldn't care less about that. She would rather not asking at all. True, she felt curious about their differences but something was more important to talk about then a child being, well, a child.

Ara tried to organize her thoughts. They both came from the same village. That's believable. They both lost their memories after witnessing violences. If the reason is believable, the fact that the two of them are in the exact same situation is not. What is even the chance ? It is too odd to be a coincidence. What does Ru think about all of this ? Does she even think about it ? If not, can she expect her to understand ? This train of thought was getting nowhere. The only solution is to address those questions to the concerned person. In private. But right now, judging by the number of people on the other side of the room, it is complicated.

"It is not good to stare on someone that intensively, Ara-chan." An adult voice took her out of her reflections. Guess she was wrong when she thought the caretaker forgot about her. Rika sat down next to her and offered a glass of orange juice. Ara bowed her head slightly as a gesture of gratitude and grabbed the drink. "You know it is normal to feel like you do."

"How is this normal ? To forget everything except your own name. Weren't we supposed to forget everything when an amnesia occured ?"

"It depends on circumstances. See that both Ru and you kept your personality and you aren't as lost as some people with amnesia. Your brain must have erased all of what it considered as the cause of your pain, keeping only your name and fragments of your personality." Ara frowned as an answer and Rika giggled at the sight. "Anyway, I was talking about the feeling of loss and lost feeling. All of the children here went through it and it's my hope and joy to see all of you recover from the pain, to be able to become happy. You're not alone in this, dear."

Is that why she looked pleased by Ru's successful integration ? Her words sounded nice and Ara can feel some honesty in them. But she couldn't help thinking that the woman might be saying that just for her job. Or it could be both.

"Why are you telling me this ? I don't look that gloomy, do I ?"

"You're a funny one, Ara-chan. And yes, you do look gloomy. Try to smile if you don't want to scare off the other children." She giggled again. 'No Rika, it would be great if I can scare them off with my usual face.' Ara thought. The woman continued. "I just feel like you would get what I mean. You're smarter than what your age made you."

Ah yes, there is this one question she absolutely needed an answer to.

"How old am I actually ? You see, I don't even remember my own age." she asked, dryly.

The child didn't even spare the caretaker a glance, busy finishing her orange juice, a tad too sour.

"Ah well, according to the analysis of the medical corps, both Ru and you are five."

Five ?! She didn't know why she felt so surprised. Because she actually expected her age to be around that number when she looked into a miroir the first time this morning. But for some reasons, it felt too young. Like a few numbers are missing.

Nevertheless, Ara gave her nod and thanked her for the answer. Rika stood up and smirked lightly. "Also, don't worry. You and Ru are roommates. So you will be seeing her tonight. In private." It was as if the woman read her mind.

.

The night fell faster than expected. After the dinner, Rika guided both her and Ru to their room. They arrived here at the same time so anyone could have guess that they will be sharing a room. It was one of the closest to Rika's own room, located at the middle of the first stage of the three staged building and only two rooms away from the stairs.

Ara predicted the room to be a small one and indeed, it was. The first thing she noticed when she entered the room was the good view it had on the streets. Although there will be noises during the day. The second thing was how small the furnitures are. There were a small desk setting next to the windows, a small wardrobe and a small bunk bed for two children. Everything felt small to her, which was strange consider that she is no older than five and small things for young children should be something normal.

Rika gave them a bag of clothes and told them to share. And after showing the girls the direction of the WC, she wished them good night before leaving, closing the door behind her.

"Can I take the upper bed ?" Ru asked, as soon as the caretaker left.

"Of course."

That was the last of her concerns.

"Thank you !" To her surprise, Ru jumped on her to give her a hug. Ara's face redden at the unexpected grip as she tried to pull her back. "What ? Don't you like hugs ? I thought everyone loves it." Ru said in surprise with a puzzled look.

"Well I am not everyone, so don't hug me like that out of the blue !" she shouted back, with an angry tone. Ru stared at her with her now tearful eyes and made her feel guilty for screaming. "Ok, ok. Just warn me the next time you want to hug ok ? I was just really surprised." She added, with her regular tone.

That seemed to work as the big blue orbs switched back to its usual color.

The black haired girl sighed at the sight of her now roommate changing her clothes and got into the orphanage pyjama. She wanted to talk to her about their common past. Whatever past it is. She thought that some memories may come back, if they get to talk together. But how to start that kind of conversation with a girl who almost cried because of a scold. This felt hopeless. So she proceed to silently watch Ru climbing to the upper bed, with amusing difficulties.

Ru is just a normal five years old, cheerful and childish. They went through the same thing but she doesn't seem to care even in the slightlest. All of these thoughts were killing her from the inside. Her mind casually drifted to something like 'this girl is a just a normal child.' when she, herself, is a child. It doesn't feel normal for a child to label another child as normal when the child is a child herself ! If her brain says the word 'child' one more time, she will explode.

"What do you think about all of this ?" She suddenly asked, shattering the silence.

There was no answer for the following minute. Ara thought Ru was already sleeping.

"I think this is sad. We don't remember anything. Whatever pain it may caused me, I'm angry at myself to allow this to happen and ended up forgetting those I loved."

Hmm, maybe she isn't that childish. She expected her answer to be like 'I don't know, I don't remember.' But the white haired girl took her by surprise by saying something else, something Ara hadn't thought about. But that alone didn't mean Ru also shares her doubts about the whole story. So she decided to dig more.

"Is that all of your thoughts ? Sad to forget about people you have lost ?"

"Well yes, what else is there to think about it ?"

The question hit a realization into her. Since this morning, she was feeling lost and confused about her situation. But never once had she thought about the loved ones she might had. Maybe twice, but nothing in deep. Ru's first thoughts were about her families and friends she lost while hers were about… doubts and herself. The worst part is she didn't feel awful or depressed when she tried to think about her now dead family and friends. It was as if she doesn't care. Ara swiftly started to feel embarrassed. She is a bad person for not thinking about her loved ones, isn't she ?

"Is everything okay Ara ?" Ru pulled her out from her reflections as she was lost in thoughts.

"Nothing, I just thought that-, nevermind me, you're good Ru."

She felt like Ru wanted to reply something but nothing came out so she didn't bother to push for it. It was already a good conversation. Other normal children would have been asleep right now. So Ara decided that they should as well.

"Good night, Ru." she said, as she turned off the light switch next to her bed.

"Good night, Ara." the white haired girl said, with a yawning.

Maybe thinking too much is the problem. Maybe the problem is herself. Maybe it is the fact that she is the one who isn't normal for what she is supposed to be.

.

A week passed since Ara arrived to the orphanage.

She found herself getting used to this lifestyle.

The constant noise from the other children doesn't bother her as much as the first day. A few of them tried to talk to her, like asking her to come play with them or to just talk and become friends. The black haired girl refused all their requests. She made herself clear that she doesn't want to befriend any of them or to share any of their games. She wasn't interested. And she also didn't want to go through what happened the first day again.

The only child she could bare being around is Ru. But the girl is always busy with the others that she only got to see her at night, in their room. Even so, their talks weren't particularly great or interesting. It was just them both being polite to each other. They usually asked about how their days were, shared some stuffs (mostly about Ru's doings) and once a while, threw each other questions about their past, with the hope to get some part of their memories back. Of course, it didn't work.

This fact really upset Rika. The caretaker tried to talk to her about how she should at least get some friends to play and talk with. Ara told her that she only needed books as friends and asked to go to the library. The woman was surprised that Ara knows how to read. Not that it was incredibly rare. Most children learn to read around the age of five. But Ara's reading ability is on per of that of an adult. That's another odd fact she found and another answer to find. Although, at this point, she just kept her questions to herself, as she felt like no one in the orphanage can answer her anyway.

Ara was true to her words when she told Rika she only needed books as her friends. The girl became a bookworm, reading everything she found suitable to her liking. She was hoping to awake some hidden memories if she kept reading every sort of stories. But it was as useless as trying to talk with Ru, because nothing came.

Nevertheless, Ara learnt about Konoha, the name of the village she currently lives in.

It is a shinobi village, where a big part of the population are ninjas. Ninjas are soldiers and their job is to protect the village. Ninjas have access to chakra, a powerful energy which combines physical and spiritual energy of a body and turns the mixte into powerful attacks. Konoha is lead by the Hokage, the most powerful ninja of the village. The current one is the Sandaime, named Sarutobi Hiruzen. Konoha ninjas are under direct order of the hokage. During war periods, ninjas are the only ones to fight, filling their duties to protect the village.

Wars.

Ninjas.

The ones who caused her village to disappear and also the ones to 'save' her.

They are linked to her past. Maybe, learning more about those 'soldiers' could help her recovering some missing part of her memories. And the hokage, the almighty person who leads the village, with more knowledges than anyone else, must be able to answer her questions and clear her doubts. Setting that thought in her mind, Ara's next step was clear.

She must meet the Hokage and she would need to think of something for that.

Although, it could be for nothing. It didn't work with Ru, it didn't work with books so it may won't work with the ninjas and the hokage. But she won't give up. She spent the week thinking about her amnesia. And her answer didn't and won't change.

A past defines you as a person. She needs her own to be someone. She wants to be someone.

.

Another week passed.

Ara had gotten herself a routine. She would wake up at the same hour as other children and they would have breakfast together. Then some of the older children would go to school and the younger ones, like her, would be staying in the orphanage. All of the other children would play some games at the playground while Ara would be going to the closest library during the morning and the afternoon. She would come back for lunch and dinner. After dinner, everyone would go to their room. Ara would share some small talks, as always, for the sake of being polite, with Ru and them both would say good night and sleep.

Ru is an understanding person. She seemed to get that the black haired girl doesn't like company and prefers silence, so she gave her that personal space. That is probably why Ara doesn't mind her. She is cute (her eyes are), smarter than most children and understands things quickly. Nevertheless, she started to find Ru strange. The girl is awfully nice and loveable by everyone standards, even hers. She doesn't seem to have any defaults and that vastly annoyed her.

Quit thinking about Ru, she needs a plan to meet the Hokage. The girl can't just go to his place, saying that she wanted to meet him. There is no way the guards there would take a civilian child seriously. Ara found herself at the library as usual, trying to find another book to read. At this point she felt like she will end up reading every book here. Two children were talking loudly and she could hear everything they said.

"The new academy year will start in a month ! My parents think I can use chakra and want me to attend it. They want me to become a shinobi and bring good money home." The first boy said.

"That would be so cool if you can become one you know ! You would be able to meet with super famous shinobis ! If that happens, I would like you to bring me some autographs !" This one was so loud and his high pitched voice didn't help.

"Heh, if I can get to attend the ninja academy, I would probably be able to bring you the Hokage's autograph within the first month if you want me to."

Hokage's autograph ?

Well of course. Why hadn't she thought about this ? The answer to her quest is obvious. If she becomes a shinobi, she will be able to meet the Hokage as easy as that boy made it sound like. Not waiting any longer, Ara ran to the row of shelfs where books about chakra would be tidied. She searched for one which would able to explain how to use chakra. After a few minutes, she couldn't find anything. 'This is impossible.', she thought. This library may be small but a book explaining how to use chakra would be a basic to have. Especially in a said shinobi village. She rushed to the enter to find the librarian.

"Mmh… hello miss." She began, awkwardly.

Usually, she isn't the one who would start a conversation, especially not to a stranger. The woman looked down to meet the little girl.

"Hi, little one, what can I do for you ?" She welcomed with a smile.

"I was searching for a book which would teach the basics about how to use chakra but I couldn't find one and I searched the entire chakra section for it." Ara hoped she didn't sound rude or angry, because inside, she was quite upset to not be able to find the book she wanted.

"I see." She answered. "We have one book like that. But it is already borrowed by someone else."

'Wait ! You can borrow a book here ?!" She asked, with wide eyes.

She actually felt stupid to not noticing that. After all, that is what a library meant for…

"Yes of course. You just need to give your identity for that. For children like you, you need to give your parents'."

"But I am an orphan and I live the orphanage, the one close to here."

"Oh ok." she could feel the woman feeling a bit guilty based on her tone. "Well for orphans, we only need the address of your orphanage. Now that I think about it, the child who borrowed the book you search for is-, let me have a look." The librarian reached for a paper and took a quick glance at it. "Well it looks like I have a good memory. So as I said, the child who borrowed the book you want is from the same orphanage as you."

Huh ? Another child from her orphanage is interested in learning chakra ? She wouldn't believe it. Ara must admit that she didn't have really high opinions about them and that she never considered the idea that one of the orphans has the guts to become a shinobi. In truth, she wouldn't notice anything anyway. She closed herself to all of them and never paid more attention than she should. But now that she knew someone from where she lives shares her interests in learning chakra, maybe, just maybe-

"Can you tell me what did the child look like ?" Ara asked, in halte. Her patience was getting out of hands.

"Yes, it wasn't that long ago so I still remember her. She isn't the type of child you forget easily. Let say, she is around your age, cute, white hairs with big blue eyes."

Girl ? Cute ? White hairs and blue eyes ?

Ru ?!

"Judging by your face, I'm sure you know her." The woman added, with a giggle.

"Eh… Yes I do, we are roommates." she was still in shock. "I just didn't expect it. Thank you."

"You welcome. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate." she ended their talk with the same smile as the small girl went back to her seat.

Not taking any book to read for the afternoon, she just sat down and laid her head on the table. Many questions and ideas flew in her mind.

.

This day couldn't feel slower. Ara was losing her patient from the wait for the sun to set. So after an hour of doing nothing productive, she left the library. She went back to the residence, hoping to find a particular white headed girl. But today wasn't her lucky day. To her displeasure, Ru was nowhere found. In addition to that, she earned a few questioning gazes from the other children when she disturbed them by entering their room without knocking. Refusing to ask for help as she had never talked to them before, she just left without a word. There was also the fact that she would feel like an hypocrite to ask for something when she never bothered to make some efforts to speak to them during the last two weeks. She had no clues of where the blue eyed girl would or could be. After checking all the places she can think of twice, the now exhausted girl ended up sitting on one of the benches at the playground. Watching the other children playing with tired eyes, she let out a sigh.

Does waiting always feel this long ? Or is she just an impatient person ?

"Are you looking for someone or something ?" Asked a familiar voice coming from her left side.

Ara turned around almost instantly to meet her interrogator, recognizating very well whose voice it is.

"You !" She shouted, pointing a finger at her.

Ru repeated Ara's gesture on herself and gave Ara a weird look, making it clear that she didn't see why Ara was shouting at her.

"Me ? What is it about me ?"

'Where have you been ? I searched the entire orphanage twice and you were nowhere found !"

"I was out for a walk around the streets." Ru replied. "I couldn't know you were looking for me since you usually spend your afternoon at the library. Also stop shouting or people will think that you are bullying me or something." Her roommate smirked at her as she took the seat next to her.

"So you also went to the library." Ara said, lowering her voice.

"Well yes, I do. What is it about that ?"

"You borrowed the chakra book. I was looking for it." A hint of annoyance could be heard in her voice.

"So that's why you were looking for me. You want to attend the ninja academy next month too ?"

Well, that was unexpected. She knew Ru is more than what she let out to be. But she wouldn't bet on the white haired knowing her intentions. Or was she just that obvious ?

"Yes. I want to learn how to use chakra."

"So cool ! Now let me take a guess, you also want to meet the Hokage to ask him questions about our hometown too, right ?"

How ? She didn't know if she wanted to hug Ru or to slap herself for not noticing. They may not have the same opinions about the amnesia according to their nightly discussions but, there are some ideas they actually share.

"Did you read my mind or you just happen to share the same ideas ?"

"Maybe both ? You are really obvious you know." If she wants to become a ninja, she better works on that. "I also spent time on my own, searching for a way to recover some of my memories. Outside of what we tried to do every night together, I mean. And I know you're also searching for something. It is not surprising that we came to the same answer at some point."

A moment of silence fell between them. Ara studied Ru as the seconds passed. She didn't look any different from usual, swinging her feets under the bench with the happy expression which seemed to never leave her face. It was as if, for her, their current discussion didn't differ from any other discussions she had with other children.

"Why didn't you tell me about that ?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Because till now, I hadn't found a good moment to bring that up. I know that you are a private person and that you hate talking to people. I didn't want to disturb you more than I already do with the room sharing and memory talkings."

"Do I make you that uncomfortable ?" With another person, the black haired girl probably wouldn't care about how they feel about or with her. But Ru isn't just anybody. She is better than the others in her eyes. And right now, she was sparking an interest in her, the one she didn't know she needed.

"If you want me to be honest then yes." Ru answered without a second thought and gave her a sad smile. Only for it to last less than a second. "But, only sometime ! When we speak together you seem normal to me." She stood up, turned around to face her and with big grin on her face, she shouted. "Also, now that we have this objective we need to work for." One of her hand was reaching for her, like an invitation. "If you're with me on this, I'm super positive that we will be good friends from now on !"

Ara sensed a rush of goosebumps running through her body upon those words. When she raised her head to meet Ru's sky blue gaze, her cheeks flushed. She took Ru's hand and sent her a nod of agreement. The white haired girl's smile went really wide as she figured out her answer. Still holding hands, they walked together to the eating room, Her heart warmed up at the idea of having a friend.

.

Tonight dinner felt slower than the waiting the tired girl had to deal with earlier during the day.

Usually dinner doesn't last very long for her. Because, first, Ara is a fast eater, and, second, she would take her leave as soon as she finishes her meal. But currently, it is not the case. Ru insisted that Ara should stay around to chat and befriend the other children after the dinner. Although the problem is, she totally lacked interests in their discussions. They aren't rude or mean or anything bad, but they really are just children between three and eight years old. They are really loud too.

"Rika gave me some candies today because I won the shinobi game !"

"I finally got to play the princess role in our princess game this afternoon because Ru was out !"

"Ara, do you want to join play the princess for us tomorrow ? You're cute enough for that !"

"No."

Maybe in her nightmares but definitively not in this lifetime. Ara refused her proposition with such a coldness that none of them tried to talk to her again for the rest of the discussion. She heard Ru letting out a sigh but she couldn't care less. She isn't a princess so why would she pretend to be one ? After ten minutes, she had enough of the pointless discussion. The girl stood up and left, not even bothering to wish the other a good night.

How did Ru even come up with an idea like that ? When she knows how awkward she is with people. But then, it is not like she didn't try because she did. She listened to what they said and replied to whatever question they asked. It made her feel more exhausted than anything else. Once she got into her room, Ara went straight to her bed, closed her eyes and started to think about what happened. It was another weirdness to add to her situation

Those children are around her age and they have this childish behavior that she supposed to be entirely normal for children of that age. However the problem is, as far as she can recall from her short memories, Ara never behaves like any of them and the thought of acting like one never comes across her mind. It was probably the hundredth time she had thought of this. Why is she like that ? Why can't she stop thinking about everything and just live with peace and joy like they all seem to do ? Does Ru feel the same as her ?

"Hello there, Earth to Ara, is there someone here ?" A small hand waved an inch above her face as she opened her eyes to meet the cerulean blue ones which were staring at her.

Ara sighed.

"Since when are you here ?" she asked, closing her eyes back.

"Five minutes ago probably. I left right after you, I just took some time saying good night to everyone before leaving. When I got in, you were already spacing out."

Silence was the only answer Ara gave her. She didn't care to count the minutes which passed where none of them said a word till Ru started to talk again.

"I didn't expect you to become good friend with them out of the blue. Afterall, you only agreed to be one with me a few hours ago." Ara raised from her bed and sat down.

She tapped on her bed with her hand, inviting Ru to sit down before replying.

"It was because I realized you're like me. But we aren't like them."

In reality, the cheerful girl never leaves any clues to make Ara think that they are the same when it comes to being different. Because if anything, Ru acts just like one of them, when she is with them, that being said. She just liked to think that her roommate is like her, so she can have someone on her side for this.

"We're supposed to be one of them."

Yes that's true. She completely agreed with her. That was what she was thinking about and that was the sole reason why Ara doesn't feel right. She wanted to release all of her inner conflicts for the past weeks. But she doesn't know how to put her train of thought and her hundreds of questions into words, so she just said:

"I always feel like something isn't right with me." That was definitively a great explanation. She mentally slapped herself, ashamed of her lack of words. "I am not certain about you, but I am sure you know what I am talking about."

"About feeling like you're supposed to be a five years old child with the mind of a five years old but you absolutely don't feel like one ?" She knew it. This time it's her guess. She nodded for her to continue. "Yes I do feel that way." This was the most serious voice she has ever heard from her. Something changed in her eyes and she kept talking. They looked darker. "We both know something is wrong about our arrival here. About us."

Finally.

"I have been thinking about it for the past weeks." Ara sounded excited. Excited to finally be able to share her train of thought without someone. "For me, there are two main points which make our situation weird. The first one is what we're talking about. Us being too matured for being children."

"I actually have my doubts about that." Ara blinked at her answer. She didn't expect her to oppose her statement. "It is true only when we compare ourselves to the children here. Except, they aren't a good representation hence, not a comparaison."

"What do you mean ?" She asked, now really curious.

"Have we ever met another matured child around our age ? Before deciding that we aren't normal ? I've actually asked Rika about this. She said in the shinobi world, children often grew up way faster than ordinary children, in the mental part at least."

That makes sense. She had always compared herself to the children here. And only from that, she judged that they are too childish for her and thought she is too sophisticated for them. The idea of the existence of more thoughtful and mature children didn't even cross her mind. She kept asking 'Why aren't they like me ?' or 'Why am I not like them ?' instead of 'Are there children like me ?'. This way of thinking already made her fail to notice that Ru is the same as her.

"I thought you wouldn't have a clue." She ended up saying, quite disappointed in herself.

"I am just not as obvious as you."

There was an unusual coldness in her voice. It sounded like a tackle. The black haired girl suddenly sensed her good and excited mood shift to a rather annoyed one.

"Excuse me but I wasn't in the mood to play some children games when I couldn't remember anything."

"It is called adaptation. You need it to survive." Ru replied as she walked up to the closet, searching for pyjamas.

What is going on with this discussion ? She totally didn't see it coming. If there is anything she hates to talk about, it is her antisocial attitude.

"Well I am alive right now, ain't I ?" She stood up, raising her voice angrily.

"Stop it Ara." Her tone was calm but the effect it had on the brown eyed girl was the opposite. "You need to learn how to blend in."

That's it. The little self-control she had left was gone.

"I don't want to ! If I don't feel like talking to someone, It is my own decision !" she was actually screaming.

"It is unhealthy !"

"Stop it, stop talking about it or I-"

"Girls stop screaming."

The door was opened and Rika was staring at the two girls with a strict gaze. It hit both of them that they were arguing very loudly. The whole orphanage would know about it tomorrow. They didn't give the caretaker an answer, only bothered to look down to the floor. Knowing that they understood, she left.

"Now off to bed and I don't want to hear you again."

After the door was closed again, none of them said anything. There were only deep breathings and sighs to hear. Ru finished to dress in her pyjama and climbed up to her bed. Ara did the same. After a moment of what felt like years, Ru broke the calm.

"Ara I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you. I just want you to open up."

"I thought you were understanding of me." she replied, lowly, as if she was whispering. Maybe another day, she would explain it. About how it doesn't feel natural to her to befriend people. But right now, she just wanted to sleep. "Now please, let's not talking about it again. I'm really tired. Good night."

"You can't stay like this. You need people to rely on." The white haired said as the light went off.

Deep inside, she knows the girl is right. Even if it still feels...

"Stupid." she whispered and Ru probably heard her.

'Because if it is just about having people around, only one would be enough. You alone should be enough.' She kept the thought to herself.

Even if she wanted the other girl to know it, her current pride didn't allow her speak up.

.

For the first time, Ara woke up late.

Ru was already gone when she opened her eyes. It is usually the other way around. She cleaned up and dressed herself quickly and went to the eating room. Everyone was already there but she couldn't see the white head around.

As she was chewing her morning bread, the reasons of the argument came back to her. With a hand on her forehead, she breathe out heavily, feeling ashamed of her reactions. She doesn't want to lose Ru. The only person she can relate with and the closest thing she has to call friend. Of course, she doesn't think Ru is right but she shouldn't react so harshly. Through the past weeks, the black haired girl had made a list of adjectives to qualify herself. Now, it is time to add 'prideful' or 'stubborn' to it.

"You're finally up !" Ru was almost shouting at her ears.

Ara kept herself from turning around, not wanting to face a pair of blue eyes.

"Did you feel the need to scream ?"

"Sometime it is necessary, consider how often you tend to space out." the white haired girl giggled at her own answer. She didn't know if she should feel ashamed or angry. So she just sighed. "Come on, don't be so moody this earlier in the morning. Look I'm sorry if I pushed you too far yesterday. My opinions haven't change and I think it is the same for you. But I still want to make up."

It seemed like they thought of the same thing. And luckily for Ara, she didn't have to make the first step. Else, she wouldn't know how to do it. "So I'm gonna give you this." Ru put a book on the table. She read its title: 'The basics of chakra'.

Oh right. She totally forgot about this whole shinobi idea, thanks to their bickering.

"Don't you need it too ?" she asked, finally facing her roommate.

"Hehe, no. Because I already finished it, already remembered the necessaries and already started to practice." the girl replied with a wink and stuck out her tongue.

For some reasons, the actions made her feel annoyed. And she knew it was done on purpose.

"I'm going to catch up, just you wait."

"I don't doubt it." She stood up and took her hand, forcing her to stand up too. "Now come with me."

"Where ?" the confused girl asked, without forgetting to pick up the book. Her friend was dragging her out of the room, under the gazes of the other children.

"To our training ground of course."

* * *

**Author's notes**: There goes my first chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the read and I'm sorry if you don't. As I said above, this is the first story I have found the courage to write despite English isn't my main language. This chapter was purely about fleshing out my OCs. I wanted to add a canon character before the end, but it turned out that the chapter is already long enough. Someone you know will definitively appear next chapter. Consider this one as a kind of prologue I guess. I tried my best and will read your reviews with care. Thank you.


	2. The Goal

Disclaimer: Narutoverse and all its characters belong to Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The training**

_Never giving up is a talent._

.

Ru was running and she was happy.

She feared that Ara would stay mad at her. The white haired girl only wanted to address her friend the problem with her self-isolation. The fact that she can't live as an antisocial. Because she would miss a lot of things, a lot of funs and a lot of cool people. It also upseted Ru, to see other children afraid of the brown eyed girl. She wanted them to see the goods in Ara: smart, collected and gentle. But it seemed like Ara is crazily sensitive when it comes to the subject. And she pushed the plug too far.

Ru thought the black haired girl would be the type to hold grudges. She was wrong. Maybe her friend isn't as obvious to guess as she thought.

So the white haired girl was happy, that yesterday bickering didn't end up putting them at each other throats.

The training ground she talked about is just a regular 'parc'. Because it is not really a parc as there wasn't anything worth watching. It is just a calm area, with trees and grass, not far away from the orphanage, ten or fifteen minutes of walk away. There are several zones like that in Konoha. Those areas usually serve as training grounds for ninjas. After all, Konahagakure means 'Hidden in the leaves'.

But she hasn't seen any of shinobis since she started to show up around, four days ago, to train. Once in a while, a civilian would walk by, but it is rare.

She would do some runnings at the morning and meditations at the afternoon. According to the book, it would enhance her chakra reserve, making it easier to manifest. The sun was already high in the sky when she finished her course. The girl threw a glance at her friend, who was sitting under a tree, totally absorbed by the book she was reading. She smiled at the sight. That child can be so concentrated at whatever she does or thinks. A smirk appeared on her lips.

She silently four-legged walked toward Ara. Once she got close to her target's ears…

"BOUH !"

"AH !"

Ru bursted into laughters as Ara jumped in surprise and moved her head around in panic. Her cheeks became red when she realized what happened.

"You should've seen your face !" The white haired girl mocked.

"Weren't you supposed to be running around ?" The black haired girl asked, sending her a dark glare.

"I've finished for a while. What about your reading ?"

"I've finished it twice."

"Heh, what a bookworm." She teased, amusingly.

"It is not related. I just read it again because I don't understand something."

"What is it ? Everything was clear for me." Ru didn't find the book hard to understand. She even thought it was an easy read.

"Chakra exists in everyone. So why do we need to prove that we can use chakra to attend the academy ? Isn't the purpose to attend the academy is to learn how to use it ?"

Ru blinked at the question. It sounded so logical that it never crossed her mind. How unfortunate for her. She needed to find an appropriate answer and quickly. Just for the sake of saving face.

"It is to prove that we are more than worth, so they can't refuse us !" She ended up replying, trying to sound as cheerful as usual.

The other girl smirked, as if she knew about her acting.

"Just admit that you haven't thought about the question before I asked."

"No, I won't give you that satisfaction." Ru pouted. "But that doesn't mean my answer isn't fit for your question. Besides, don't you want to succeed ? Just for your own pride ?"

She was sure Ara felt the same.

"It is always good to have a goal." Bingo ! Now the subject can be changed.

"Indeed !" She shouted. "Also, why did you read the book all over again ? If you didn't find an answer the first time, it just means it is not there."

"Why not ? I could've missed it." the brown eyed girl replied with a shrug as she remarked that it was time to go back to the residence for lunch.

.

"So, what do we need to do to show that we can use chakra ?" Ara asked, as soon as they were out of the orphanage.

"Doing some jutsus ?" Isn't that obvious ? It is what chakra is known for.

"There aren't any jutsus to learn from the book. It only talked about chakra control. Like, lessons about meditations, physical trainings and hand signs."

That was something she didn't even notice. The truth is she didn't pay as much attention to details as her friend. She read that training would improve your chakra reserve and a better chakra reserve means you're stronger. So she just started from there. Again, she needed to save face. So with a fake grin, she said:

"Why don't we do random hand signs and see what will come out of it ?"

The black haired girl stared at her with an infuriated look and sighed.

"Don't tell me you started to train your chakra reserve without a second thought."

"Ok I won't tell you."

The answer made her roommate frowned. Ru tried hard to keep a straight face. It is very funny to play with Ara's seriousness.

"Have you tried mold your chakra ?" She asked. The white haired girl nodded as an answer. "How did it feel like ?"

"It is a kind of like surnatural feeling which emerged from the inside of your body. It is like you sense your own blood running through you like an adrenaline. Because chakra circulates in your body in a similar way as blood. And as you probably know from the book, it is basically your life energy. So when you can manifest it, your whole body feels stronger, like enhanced. I was only able to sense it after some meditations. It doesn't come naturally as your body needs to be trained to open its reserve and after that, to mold it."

"I see." Ara said, after listening carefully.

Her expression became thoughtful as they walked to the parc. The white haired girl hummed along the way while her friend remained quiet till their destination.

"Now I will spend my afternoon trying to meditate and you will climb trees." Ara ended up saying. Ru wasn't sure if she got the point. Her friend continued after seeing her puzzled face. "Without your hands."

Eh ? It got even more confusing. How do you climb trees without your hands ? You just magically walk on it ?

Wait…

Her eyes widened as she realized what her friend asked her to do. She remembered some lines like that in the book. About chakra control exercises where you use chakra to do, well, ninja stuffs. Like walking on trees or on water with your feet. Her eyes wandered on the trees around her and their height. She rolled her eyes.

"You know my body is only five years old. If I fall from too high, I die."

"It is either that or you try to walk on water. It is the same exercice. You mold chakra into your feet." Ara explained, sitting down under the same tree from this morning, already in a meditation position.

She made it sounds like something easy to do. From what Ru's experience, chakra control comes with time and experience. The more you get your body to mold it, the more easier you can control it. But for someone who only succeed molding it twice or thrice, it would take painfully long to master its control.

"I feel like you don't care if I break some bones."

"Because I know you will succeed." Ara replied with a small smile before closing her eyes.

Her cheeks warmed up at her friend's firm answer as she shouted. "Of course I would !"

.

There are a lot of things which are easier to say than done. And Ru decided to classify the 'walking on trees' exercise as one of them.

The sun was at the end of its course as the sky blue color switched into an orange shade. She lost counts of how many trees she had tried to climb since the start of the afternoon. The highest she could go up to was around two meters high.

This would be her last attempt for today.

She closed her eyes, did the basic hand sign for chakra molding and focusing all her energy into her feet. After sensing the overflowing chakra surrounded them, she ran to her target, aiming for the top.

One, don't lose focus, two, stay focus, three steps... Crack.

Another stupid tree blew up. And she fell. Again.

Ru stayed on the ground, laying on her back, and breathed heavily. She was exhausted and her bones hurt. Her chakra was definitively focused on her feet all this time. But the only thing it did was destroying those poor trees (and her back) instead of allowing her to walk on them.

"I see that you're still alive." She opened her eyes to face a pair of light brown eyes, staring down on her.

"I won't be for any longer. If I keep going like this." She said, feeling her friend's gaze all over her body. "Care to remain me again why do we need to become ninjas ?"

"I don't know about you but for me, there are three or maybe four reasons." She sat down besides her and started her, probably long, explanation. "First, I need answers from the hokage. There are a lot of weird things about our arrival here and I must know the truth."

Ru didn't know what weird things her friend talked about. Because the only reason she wanted to see the hokage is to ask him if he has any records of her family.

She continued. "Second, if we become ninjas, we may get to meet people who were involved with the destruction of our hometown. We can get answers from them about what really happened during the battle. And third, we will also become strong. We would be able to return to our village. Even if there will be only ruins to see, I have hopes that some shattered memories might return."

Ru was listening very carefully. Her roommate's reasoning ability is impressive. When she only thought about meeting the hokage, Ara was seeing farther than just the meeting. A scenario where they both become shinobis.

"And what's your fourth reason ?"

"I'm afraid in the situation we are in, becoming shinobis is the only way to get more answers. So you will need to train like today everyday. If you're still with me in this of course."

She offered a sorry smile and Ru exhaled at the sight.

"We're in this together till the end. Who do you take me for ?"

She really meant it. For her, the deal was sealed, yesterday, when they shook their hands.

"Let's head back to the residence, so you can recover." Ara ended up suggesting. "Can you walk ?" She asked. Ru slightly shook her head as an answer. With a sigh, the other girl lifted her up and lent her a shoulder for her to lean on. "The others will get the wrong ideas." She added, as they started to walk.

"No it's good. I already told them I want to become a shinobi. They know I am training."

"So they actually understand what you tell them." She sensed a hint of sadness in her words.

She couldn't understand why Ara is being so hard on them. Sure, the girl is awkward when surrounded by too many people and she isn't good at acting like a child. But the other orphans are still sweet, from what Ru had seen.

"You need time and patience with them but it is nothing difficult."

The children aren't particularly quick-witted, she must admit. But when you use the right words, they do understand. Ru wanted Ara to understand this too. The girl didn't say anything else. But judging by her expression, she seemed to be thinking, as always. Ru hoped she won't start to space out and leave her walking on her own.

"So, are you putting an act with them since the start ?" The brown eyed girl ended up asking.

"I don't think so. Everything comes naturally. I guess I just know how to adapt to my surrounding." The word just slipped. Ara's face was unreadable. Knowing she just touched the sensitive a sore spot, she quickly added. "That's why I am loveable. Unlike you." She stuck out her tongue.

It was a successful attempt to turn the awkward situation into a teaseful one. The black haired girl frowned at her provocation and proceed to walk away as she dropped her down without a word.

"Hey ! Come back !"

.

Ru had spent the last weeks eating with the other children. She used to sit at one of the loudest tables, at the center of the room, surrounded by all the others and they would talk about all and nothing. She was used to the noises and the laughters around her.

But today, for the second time, she was eating in a corner. Precisely, she was eating in the corner with Ara. The latter refused to join the others and Ru didn't want her to eat alone so she ended up staying along. Only for like, fifteen minutes.

Because Ara is one fast eater. She ate as if she was about to die and she won't be eating again tomorrow. Meanwhile Ru was taking all the time in the world, because, for her, food is best when you take your time to enjoy it. It was even better when you had such a tiring day with a body full of bruises.

Once her friend finished her meal, she left to go to bed, leaving her alone. So Ru decided to join another table to finish her meal. The others questioned her about her sudden closeness to Ara. Ru only shrugged at their questions. Some of the children wished her good luck in her goal to become a ninja, telling her that it would be hard. A few of them also bad mouthed her roommate's antisocial behavior and the white haired girl would shut them up, in a gentle way of course. Nevertheless, it was a good dinner. Ru really enjoys listening to other people life.

When she got into the room, Ara was already in her pyjamas and was comfortably laying in her bed. The girl didn't hear her entering the room as she was reading the chakra book, again.

"I should be the one sleeping you know." No answer. She sighed and raised her voice. "Why are you reading it again ? What is your question this time ?"

The black haired girl put down the book to face her with a surprise look.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you enter." She quickly apologized. "I was trying to see if there isn't an explanation about why you were destroying trees instead of climbing them."

"Did you find anything ?" Ru asked, interested.

"Nothing explicit. But I have an idea."

"Do tell."

"You didn't happen to focus too much chakra on your feet, aren't you ?"

"Of course I did. Wasn't it the point ?"

"That's why you were blowing trees, idiot. You forced all of your chakra into your feet instead of using only the necessary amount." Ara stood up and pinched her cheek.

"What's the difference ?" For unknown reasons, her friend was playing with her cheeks, pulling them in and out. "And stop playing with my cheeks !" She pouted, making the brown eyed girl chuckle as she added:

"There's a big difference. Imagine your chakra as water and your chakra reserve as a water reserve. Imagine jutsus as the plants which need water. If you water your plants too much or not enough, they will die. The plants only need a specific amount."

Ru's eyes widen without blinking, trying to picture the example in her head. It actually makes sense. Ara smirked at the blue eyed girl's grasp of the explanation.

"So I was using too much ?" She asked. "But how can you know the exact amount you need ?"

The girl touched her chin, closed her eyes as her expression became thoughtful. After a moment, she replied:

"I would gradually add chakra bit by bit and see when it would feel enough."

Ah, that's a good tip. If only she actually told her that before she started to blow up trees. She wouldn't be covered in bruises right now. Her lips turned into a smirk.

"Interesting. Did you succeed in molding chakra yet ?"

"No. I need more trainings to open up my reserves. Chakra needs to be awaken and you know it. You don't think that I actually succeed in activating it after an afternoon, don't you ?"

"You're right. I didn't expect a positive answer."

Afterall, it took herself a few days of physical and spiritual trainings to be able to open up her own reserves. And she still needed to train to mold it correctly afterward.

"So why would you ask ?"

"I need to see you suffer, to pay you back for not giving me your good tip earlier. It would've spare my back and those trees."

"It's more about your back than the trees." Ara retorted, amusingly.

Ru crossed her arms and pouted. It only earned her a tap on her aching back.

.

Ara gave her a good tip. But even if the tip is good, it doesn't mean a guaranteed success just by applying it.

Because the sun was now high in the sky and she was, again, laying on the ground and catching her breath.

She had made some progress as she could climb up to five meters now. But she knew it wasn't enough. The problem is, even though Ru ended up knowing the amount of chakra she needs, she still couldn't precisely mold for the exact amount. It was always not enough or too much. And even when she molded a good amount, it faded away quickly because she lacked the concentration to keep the balance.

At least, she wasn't blowing down anymore trees.

Ru decided that she needed a break. Sitting down with her back leaned on the tree, she watched over Ara who was, awkwardly, doing some push-ups. The girl was sweating all over her body and grinded her teeth each time she pushed on her arms. The white haired girl couldn't hold her laughters at her friend's painful expression.

It was a pleasure to watch Ara's struggling face. She wouldn't even need to wait for her to try to the tree walk to suffer. Ru grinned widely, happy to not be alone anymore in the pain of training.

"If you don't do at least fifty push-ups, I'm officially the best of us two."

"I am at- forty-" Ara tried to answer with difficulties.

It didn't take long before the black haired girl let herself fall to the ground, exhausted. Ru lent her friend an arm to help her standing up as they headed back to the residence for the lunch.

"How was your training ? Did you try my tip ?" Ara asked.

"Yes. It worked ok. But I am still not there yet. Though, I believe I only need more practices to gain enough experiences for the molding."

The brown eyed girl sent her a small smile as an encouraging gesture. Before switching her expression into a pensive one.

"I thought about something."

Yes, she would've guess that a question was coming, when she saw her thinking. She knows Ara is a thoughtful person but, really, how many questions this girl can up with ?

"What is it this time ?" Ru sounded exasperated.

"Let say, we can walk on trees to prove that we can control chakra. We need to attend the academy right ? How do we suppose to do that ?"

At least, her questions are interesting ones. Having Ara as friend is definitively entertaining. As she would always ask questions about details you wouldn't even notice or think about. And most of time it turns out to be important and useful.

"Eh… I guess we need to ask for someone to subscribe us to the program ?"

"Who ? Where ?"

The problem is, when Ara asks about something, it is something she doesn't know. And most of time, Ru doesn't know the answer more than her.

"You realize I don't know more than you in a lot of things. You're the smarter one between us."

"I know, but if I had an answer I won't be asking."

In a normal situation, it would be the parents' job to put their children at school. But they don't have parents. They are orphans, in the care of an orphanage. The answer was obvious.

"Rika ? She is our official guardian, isn't she ?

"I also thought about her." The reply made Ru frown. Why did she ask when she did know the answer. "You think she will accept ?" Ara added.

"Why wouldn't she ?"

Of course, why wouldn't she ?

.

"No."

Her voice echoed around the room. The word felt like a cut on her ears. The girls' eyes widened as they grasped the refusal. Rika was staring at theirs and, for the first time, Ru thought the caretaker looked scary.

"Why ?" The white haired girl ended up asking, shattering the silence.

The woman didn't answer right away. Ru felt her spines shivering under the continuing gaze.

"It is not something you can joke about."

Joke ? Sure, Ru likes to joke around. It is part of the funny sides of life. Sure, she doesn't feel as invested in this shinobi story as Ara seems to be. But she has never taken it as a joke.

"We're really serious about this." Ru replied as her eyes darkened, emphasizing her seriousness.

The woman seemed surprised to see that unusual side of her.

"Listen, I know you both are very matured for your age and you have your own reasons to want this but…" She paused, her expression saddened before continuing. "Did having your hometown destroyed by ninjas not bother you ?"

Is this it ? Did she refuse to help them because she doesn't want them to be involved with the ones responsible for their current misfortune ? As usual, she hadn't thought about this. Rika sounded rationale but it was difficult to imagine. The amnesia erased all the pain she should've feel, allowing her to live without grief and sorrow. At the same time, it also made her unable to resent anyone for what happened.

If she hadn't forget everything, maybe she wouldn't want to do anything close to shinobis. But, as she is right now, she wouldn't mind becoming one of them. Even though it doesn't mean Rika was wrong.

Ru didn't know how to answer the question.

"There's no need worrying about that." Ara spoke up for the first time. "We don't remember anything. Right now, as we are, we don't feel any hate toward anyone. There is also the fact that we simply believe that becoming shinobis will greatly help us recovering our memories."

Bless Ara for answering at her place.

"Yes, exactly. And we also started to train our chakra. It is going on well. Rika, really, we can do it. Don't you believe in us ?" Ru added.

Rika lowered her eyes before replying.

"It is not the reason, Ru. And Ara, I didn't mean my question that way."

Then in what way did she mean it ?!

"Then why ?! We have our reasons to become shinobis. I don't see why you're denying us our wish." The white haired girl snapped, losing her patience.

"Because being a ninja is not a game. Look at what happened to your village because of them. You will need to do the same thing to other people. Are you willing to do that ? You will face the same horrors, again. Are you ready to go through the same pain ? You will also need to put your life on the line for everything you will need to do. A ninja lives to sacrifice. It is not about investigating on whatever past you may had. It is about your life."

There were already too many silence breaks in this discussion. But Ru swore that the current one was the longest. Her mind was repeating what Rika said.

If Ru had to be honest with herself, she must admit that she hadn't seen things that way. She has never been the very thoughtful type. During her two weeks in Konoha, everything she learnt about shinobis had been glorified. The children took them as role models. The civilians spoke of them as protectors. The books presented them as heroes.

But Rika painted them in a polar opposite light. And Ru realized that everything she said is true.

The white haired girl really wanted to recover her memories. She wanted to remember the people she once loved and she already set it as a goal. One part of her knew she wanted to do everything to achieve that goal but the other part felt doubts. Was she ready to bet her life ? Are her memories worth to suffer and to die for ?

Ru was lost. Her eyes were reaching for her friend, wondering if she shared her conflicted feelings.

But to her surprise, Ara's eyes looked even more persistent than before. Their light brown color switched to an orange shade as the flame of determination was burning in them. The black haired girl had found an answer to the question.

"I must thank you for telling us the truths about that job. I also feel grateful of you for caring about our well-being. Even though… even if everything you said is true, even if everything isn't all black and white, we won't give up. It may seem absurd to you. You may not see the worth of sacrificing our existence for some forgotten memories. But to us it means everything. And we want it back. We need it. By any cost. Together, we set it as a goal we must achieve. Even when it means being selfish and putting our life on the line."

It was the first time Ru sensed an admiration toward someone. Ara's words hit like an epiphany. Her undying resolve to their cause cleared all the doubts she had. She wasn't born from the ground. Her parents gave birth to her. They must have loved her and she must have returned their love. She needs to remember them again. She must. So, of course, her memories are worth the risks. Grabbing her roommate's hand, she smiled, feeling more thankful than ever.

But even Ara's admirable determination didn't change Rika's mind.

"You're still way too young to know what life really means. You are only ready to bet it because you haven't seen all the best it can offer."

The caretaker stood up and started to walk away as she added:

"This discussion is closed."

.

Despite Rika's refusal, they still went back to their training spot, ready for another round. Ru wasn't sure why both of them still wanted to continue the training. Their feet just found their way back to the parc and none of them bothered to change the direction.

"Did you really agree with me ?" Ara started, once they reached the entrance.

"About what ? Because there were a lot of things on which I agreed with you."

"Willing to sacrifice everything for a chance to recover our memories. I talked for us both in the attempt to convince her when, in reality, we have never discussed about that in details once. So I might have spoken falsely for you."

Ru smiled at the concern and replied with a clear-cut answer.

"Yes."

Ara stared at her, as if she was trying to detect a trace of lie. After a few seconds, she dropped her gaze.

"You know it might not work." She sighed. "We might get the truth behind our situation, we might get to learn about our family, we might become strong enough to go back to our village, and despite all of that, we might not be able to remember anything." The girl paused and sat down, before staring at Ru again. "All of it could be for nothing."

The blue eyed girl joined her under the tree and looked up to the sky.

"But it's the only thing we can do and hope for." She answered, closing her eye as she felt the warm summer breeze on her face.

"Are you really willing to risk your life over something which may not work, for your past ?"

Why would she ask ? It was as if she tried to convince her the opposite. Then, it hit her. The brown eyed girl was trying to change her mind. So she would be the only one to deal with the risks. Ara expected to be alone in the story.

But Ru won't let that happen.

"Aren't you ?" She asked instead of replying.

"I am."

"Then so am I." Ru opened her eyes and sent the black haired girl a wink. "Don't expect to be alone because, again, we're in this together. You will have to put up with me all the way till the end."

Ara's mouth widened before softened into a smile, a warm one. She actually smiled. For real. Ru was sure it was the first time she has seen a real smile from her, the one which came from the heart. And Ru immediately understood that it was her way to say thank you.

She returned the smile and both of them sat still for a moment. Doing nothing but enjoying the silence.

Suddenly Ru realized something. Something she couldn't point out earlier.

She started to understand why she was annoyed by some of Rika's words. The caretaker wasn't just warning them about the dangers of a shinobi life. She totally sounded like she didn't believe they can make it.

"We need a new goal." Ru broke the silence.

"And what would it be ?" Ara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We must become strong shinobis and survive through everything. So Rika will need to apologize, for underestimating us."

"So I wasn't alone to feel like she looked down on us."

Ru was grinning widely, knowing very well that being prideful is the most obvious personality trait they share.

"Are you with me in this too ?"

The black haired girl closed her eyes to think about what her friend said. Ru was still smiling, pretty sure that Ara would accept.

"Of course."

"Perfect !" Ru shouted as she stood up and already started to run. "Now let's resume our training ! We have a lot to do. One hundred push-ups and ten laps around the field for you Ara !"

"You're kidding me."

.

It had been a long and tiring week.

Long because, between the two girls and Rika, things got really awkward after that disastrous discussion. Ru felt like the woman had been forcing herself to act as usual toward her. Even if, she had been doing the same thing. As for Ara, she hadn't talked to Rika for the whole week.

And tiring because, despite Rika's refusal, Ara and her still kept up with their trainings as they planned. Sure, they don't know how they would manage to attend the academy in time. But they agreed to not giving up.

Regardless of those, today felt good. and Ru had two good news.

The first good new is, she finally achieved the tree walking exercise. Her efforts ended up paying when, yesterday, she was able to walk on the highest tree of the forest up to its top. And she didn't even feel tired or anything. Her body got used to the regular training and her chakra control was better than before, even if it's not perfect.

Because the word 'perfection' should be applied to Ara's chakra control instead.

Ru still couldn't believe it.

As soon as the black haired girl managed to activate her chakra network, she immediately succeed to mold it perfectly. Well, Ru might be exaggerating because she was jealous. But for real, Ara was very good at it. It had taken her only one day to walk on trees without sweating when Ru needed a week.

But she won't let that fact ruining her good humor today.

The second good new is that Ara agreed to eat lunch with the other children, precisely, with Sachiko and the twins. Ru learnt about their first and regretful meeting when Sachiko asked her to tell Ara she is really sorry.

What happened between them was unfortunate for Ara. And Ru can see why the girl was reluctant to give them another chance. The twins might not know what they did wrong but Sachiko looked genuinely guilted.

The white haired girl wanted her friend to have other friends besides herself. As Ara already knows with Sachiko and the twins, she wanted to them to make up. That would, not only turning them into friends, but also reconcile Ara with her misleading first conversation. And hopefully, that would open her up, even if only a little.

Her plan was perfect, in theory. Because she still feared for the execution. She didn't want it to turn out like that dinner a week ago.

"Hi Sachiko-nee !" Ru shouted out for the older girl, wavered her hand to give their position.

"Hi Ru-chan, Ara-chan. How was your training ?" Sachiko greeted them as she sat down next to Ru.

"Great. I'm perfectly in shape !" Ru was trying to pull out the most cheerful attitude she can. But seeing that her friend remained stoic, she pouted. "Ara you haven't reply to her. That's rude."

"Hi." The black haired girl simply said.

Which happened to make Ru sigh and put an awkward expression on Sachiko's face.

"Where are the twins ?" The white haired girl asked, trying to change the subject.

"They finished lunch earlier and went to help with the preparations."

Preparations ? Now that she thought of it, this morning everyone seemed more excited than usual. Though, it still messed up her perfect plan.

"But I wanted them to meet Ara !"

"Technically, we already know each other." Ara corrected her, coldly. "And what preparations ?" She asked, facing the brown haired girl for the first time.

"Oh right, it would be your first time meeting her !"

Her ? Who ? Is there someone in this place she hasn't met yet ?

"The headmaster of the orphanage ?"

Actually, Ru knew the place doesn't have a headmaster. But she asked anyway. Because who would be so important to the residence for Rika to organize a welcoming party for ?

"Now Ru-chan, you know very well that the orphanage belongs to the village. We don't have a headmaster. If anything, Rika should be considered as one. The person is Kushina-san."

Ru and Ara exchanged a questioning look, not having an idea of who it could be. Maybe some of the children mentioned that person to her. But Ru has a very bad memory when it comes to names of people she has never seen. Sachiko continued after the lack of reply.

"Uzumaki Kushina-san. She is one of the village jônins, the highest rank for a ninja. And she used to live in this orphanage before growing up and becoming a well-known figure in the village. She still pays us a visit whenever she has time, despite her busy schedule." Sachiko explained.

Jônin ? A real ninja visiting this place ?

The two roommates blinked at each other. She immediately knew her friend was thinking about the same thing as her.

"Ru, we need to talk to her." Ara said before asking abruptly: "When will she arrive ? Can we actually get to talk to her ?"

"Ara, be nice to Sachiko-nee !"

She didn't get her to talk with Sachiko for her to be this cold. It supposed to go smoothly. Like the first time they talked together, about that chakra book. At least, her snapping made the older girl giggled.

"It's ok Ru, I don't mind it. I made Ara-chan uncomfortable the first time. I deserve the coldness."

Her answer only made Ru sigh. Sachiko is one of the nicest children and she just showed it right now. Still, it didn't seem to have an effect on Ara, as the girl only let out a 'Huh' sound. With a smile, the older girl continued.

"Middle of the afternoon I think. And you two are the new orphans here, she will surely want to meet to you."

.

Uzumaki Kushina is the most beautiful woman Ru has ever seen.

She has very long red hairs, full cheeks and gray blue eyes. Her unique colors makes her stand out very much from the crowd. Ru had never thought that red hairs could look that pretty. Even if it is the first time she got to see it.

After spending most of her time with the other children, she came to meet her and Ara, as Sachiko told them. The black haired girl wanted them to talk right away, but Ru didn't agree and actually needed to hold her friend back. The orphans seemed to really love the woman and enjoy her presence so she didn't think it was ok to interrupt their happiness.

But Kushina-san is also a strange woman. She put a "-ttebane" to the end of almost each one of her sentences. It actually makes her speech dynamic to hear. And right now, the white haired girl was watching her best friend getting scolded by this woman only one minute after knowing her. And the scene was hilarious considering Ara's personality.

"When you greet someone who smiled at you, you smile back, you know !"

"I already greeted you back. Why do you want me to smile too ?"

"Because it smooths the greeting, you know ! Ru did it, why don't you do it too ?"

"I'm not Ru. And I don't need to smooth every greeting I will make. A ninja doesn't show emotions."

"Talking like a shinobi when you're still a clueless child ?"

Ah. It was the first time someone told Ara she is clueless. Knowing the girl's pride, Ru expected her roommate to snap out and lose her control. She glanced at her and was surprised that Ara was actually smirking. Like, she was amused.

"I will become one." The girl answered, clear and cut.

"Hah, you need to go through Rika for that, you know !"

"She already refused."

"As I expected."

For a moment, Ru felt sad. Judging by how Kushina-san said it, it seems like Rika refuses to subscribe any of her orphans to the ninja academy. The caretaker might have her reasons and worries, but she couldn't sympathize with the idea of ruining people dream. For her and Ara, it is a goal. But for the others, it may be a long life dream or something in that line.

"Does this mean Rika never let anyone becoming shinobis ?" She asked, interrupting their bickering.

Kushina gave her a nodd. Ru noticed Ara's determined eyes, the same ones she had during their talk with Rika, as the black haired girl started:

"But it is not like I will give up on it. You can help us, can't you ? If what we were told is correct, you're a jônin. Recommending some children for the academy wouldn't be too hard for you, right ?"

Kushina looked surprised by the request. Her mouth switched into a smile, before asking:

"Ah, you're some interesting children aren't you ? Why would I ? When you didn't even greet me with a smile ! And 'us' ? Ru, do you want it too ?"

"Yes. We both share the same goal. We would be very thankful of you help us out."

"What are your reasons for that ? Becoming a shinobi isn't any kind of job."

Ah, here we go again for the explanation. Ru saw Ara closing her eyes, as if she was leaving it to her this time. She grinned, excited to get to do it.

"We are-"

"Kushina !"

A voice echoed in the room, cutting Ru's. The girls turned to face the speaker, a tall adult man with blond hairs and blue eyes. Both her and Ara formed an 'O' with their mouth. At that moment, Ru was controlling herself, trying to not bursting out in laughters.

Because she wouldn't have thought that of her friend.

"Minato ?" Kushina called, running toward him.

"I knew I would find you here. The Hokage wishes to see you."

"I see." Her face switched to a serious look. She looked down on them, with a smile and a wink. "Well girls, I'm sorry we haven't talk much. But if you wish, we can talk about all of this tomorrow. I will come to pick you up for a Konoha guide tour !"

The woman wavered them a goodbye and disappeared in a blink of the eyes alongside the man. And once they're gone, Ru let out a loud chuckle. Ara stared at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What had gotten into you ?"

"Admit it, that guy is really handsome." Ru said, still giggling. Her friend's cheeks became as red as a tomato.

"So what ? You thought the same !" Ara snapped, furiously.

"Nothing. It is just funny to see you act like a girl for once."

The black haired girl let out a 'hmph' before walking away. Ru smiled, happy to know her friend isn't hopeless.

.

Kushina was true to her words.

As soon as the girls finished their breakfast, Rika told them the jônin was waiting for them in front of the residence. The red headed looked excited, even if Ru supposed it is just her everyday mood.

The white haired girl was really looking forward for this guide tour. Despite living in Konoha for almost three weeks now, she doesn't know anything about the village. Sure, she tried to explore a few streets, visiting a few buildings and shops here and there but, the three times she tried to do so, she got lost. If it wasn't for the help of the villagers, she wouldn't know how to get back to the orphanage.

Ara probably beat her at orientation. The real question is, did the girl actually try to visit the town ? Judging by the slightly awed look on her face during their walk, Ru believed it was new for both of them.

Konoha is a big and round shaped village. It took them the entire morning to only visit a quarter of it.

Ru learnt that the orphanage is located close to the main entrance. That's the reason why the streets around their residence are always full of activities. The era has the highest concentration of traffics in the village. All sort of shops and business could be found. Ru already saw some of them, like the hairdresser's salon, the shopping street, the marketplace, the bookstore, the library and the flower shop. Kushina told them that the flower shop belongs to the Yamanaka clan, one of the most powerful families in Konoha and the users of spirit manipulation techniques.

After buying some foods at the marketplace, Kushina invited them to the closest restaurant, a ramen shop, named Ichiraku Ramen.

It was the first time Ru had tried a ramen. She didn't think it is anything special. It is just noodles in a salty soup. And, learning to understand Ara's expressions by now, the black haired girl didn't seem to like it that much either. In fact, she even seemed to find it bad.

But the same thing couldn't be said for the jônin. She literally devoured the meal and couldn't stop ordering for more.

"How comes that you girls don't like ramen ?" Kushina asked while waiting for another bowl.

Ru sighed. It is not like she didn't enjoy the meal. She just happened to prefer something else. Something like ice-creams or candies. And after spending a week with Ara, she knows the girl doesn't like salty foods.

"Sorry Kushina-san, I'd rather eat sweet foods."

"It is too salty for me."

"I'm really disappointed. I was considering helping you guys talking to Rika. But you don't even like ramen, you know !" The woman loudly exclaimed, faking a disappointed face.

Ru directly saw through the bait while Ara fully ate it. At least, her naivety made the jônin laugh. The blue eyed girl thought it was a good moment to satisfy her curiosity about something.

"Say Kushina-san, who was that man yesterday ?" She asked.

"Minato ? Well, he is my eh-boyfriend, you know !"

Both girls' were took by surprise at the sight of the red headed embarrassed face.

"I see." Ara said.

"You look so good together !" Ru added.

Kushina's cheeks were as red as her hairs after hearing their comments.

"Enough ! Let's talk about you instead, you know !" She snapped out, trying to change the subject. "So I heard you both came from a destroyed village ?"

"Yes and we don't remember anything prior our arrival here. But I'm sure Rika already told you that." The white haired girl replied.

"She did. You two must have been through a lot you know. I can relate, you know !"

For a short time, Ru wondered what life Kushina had lived. Her eyes searched for her friend's as her sixth sense was telling her that the girl must definitively be triggered by the jônin's statement. But to her surprise, Ara was calm and carefully listening, letting the woman continued.

"But why do you want to become shinobis ? Consider what happened to you, I would've thought you wouldn't want anything to do with us."

The girls looked at each other and Ara gave Ru a nod for her to explain.

"Well, at first, we wanted to meet the hokage. To ask him if he can tell us more about our hometown. So maybe it can bring us some memories back. And we thought, as mere orphans, there is no chance he would grant us a meeting."

Ru released a deep breath after finishing her explanation. She didn't know how Ara always talks like this without breaking in sweats.

"That's thinking too far ahead. If it's just a meeting you need, I can arrange one for you."

Really ?

Both of their eyes widened in surprise as they blinked at each other. The jônin giggled before adding:

"Of course. Even if, I suppose, after getting your answers, you wouldn't have any reasons to attend the academy anymore."

No. Maybe it was the case two weeks ago. But after that talk with Rika, it is not just about meeting the hokage anymore.

"Wrong. We still need to become great shinobis, to prove Rika wrong." Ara spoke up, making Ru smile as she nodded at her reply.

"Oh ? Were there more to the story ?"

"She hurt our pride by talking like we aren't fit to become shinobis." Ru answered, still feeling annoyed by what happened.

"Brats like you already talk about pride ?"

"Don't look down on us just because we are children. We already managed to open our chakra reserve and learnt chakra control." Ara retorted, smoothly, with a smirk.

"You did ? What do you know actually ?"

"We know how to walk on trees." Ru replied.

"Very well ?"

"Well enough." Ara added.

Kushina didn't answer right away and looked thoughtful for a moment. The girls were waiting for her to say something but nothing came out. Finishing her fifth ramen bowl, the woman paid the addition and called them to leave.

As they walked out of the restaurant, she finally replied.

"I have a challenge for you. See that hill with the hokages face on it ?" She started, pointing at the hokage rock with her index finger. "If you can walk up to the top of it, I promise I will talk to Rika and personally recommend you for the academy."

Both of them looked at the direction of the unmissable thing as they smirked at each other.

"Consider it as done." Ru said, tapping a fist against her hand.

"When will we start ?" Ara asked with a grin.

.

The Hokage rock is the pride of Konoha. It is the most outstanding thing in the village as it is always the first thing you see once you enter the village. It serves as a daily reminder for all the villagers. A reminder that they should always feel grateful to their greatest and foremost protectors.

It was the first time Ara and her have been this close to the mountain. Ru had to admit, the monument looked way more impressed from this close than from the other side of the town. It is probably ten times higher than the tallest tree of their training ground. Or maybe more.

This may be harder than expected.

"Don't worry, if you fall down, I will surely catch you." Kushina said with a smirk, trying to dissolve their determination. "Even if you still can change your mind."

"It is impossible. We already accepted the deal." Ru replied and Ara agreed with a nod.

Standing next to each other, they exchanged a last glance before closing their eyes and doing the basic hand sign. After a few seconds of concentration, they ran up, almost at the same time.

The challenge quickly turned into a race between the two girls. Ara was faster than her and Ru knew it. But the black haired girl kind of has a weak endurance. As they got higher, the gravity pull became stronger and the amount of chakra needed also increased. After half way through, Ru started to feel exhausted. A concern came in her mind as she quickly glanced at her friend, knowing her roommate has never been good when it comes to endurance. To her surprise, Ara kept going up and was much ahead of her. She bit her lip and accelerated as much as she could.

There was only a quarter of the road left to do. At that point, Ru felt pain all over her body. Her breathing became less regular and controlled as she struggled to maintain her pace. Running for one or two hours was okay, but running against the gravity and with a constant use of chakra was another matter. 'Focus, Ru, stop thinking !' She kept telling herself as the end seemed as far away from her as the sky. Her eyes started to wander on Ara's back, fixing the girl's black hairs intensively. It gave her strength.

'I won't lose to you !' she thought. And the thought kept her going.

Somewhere near the end, the brown eyed girl seemed to slow down her pace, allowing Ru to catch up. They ended up arriving at the same time, more exhausted than ever. The white haired girl was four-legged walking and coughing while her roommate was laying on the ground, not moving anymore.

Kushina appeared behind them in the split of a second, wearing a prideful expression on her face.

"I can't believe you actually succeed, you know ! You both were very impressive. And you must be very talented, you can definitively become great shinobis, you know ! I'm really excited right now ! Let's head back to the orphanage, I will surely convince Rika to let you attend the academy !"

* * *

**Author's notes**: This was harder to write than the first one as I feel like it is harder to write Ru's pov than Ara's because of their different personality. Ara is more thoughtful and less open to talks while Ru's first focus is her interactions with others.

Also I'm absolutely happy that Kushina finally appeared. I planned her appearance at the end of the first chapter but scenes just kept coming in my head and I felt like I need to flesh out my OCs motivation and relationship before getting to the point.

I know Kushina uses 'Dattebane' as her catchphrase. But I replace it with 'You know !', its translation in English. I'm trying to use as less japanese words as possible in this fanfic. Please understand.

I really hope my OCs and my story as a whole were enjoyable to read. This is my first priority in this story, making them likeable as they are the MCs. From now on, the pov will be omniscient as I feel like there are too many missed informations when writing in a single pov.


	3. The Start

**Disclaimer:** As always, Naruto and its universe belong to Kishimoto.

**Chapter 3: The Start**

_The secret of getting ahead is getting started._ \- Mark Twain.

Ara is sure an impatient person but Ru didn't know she was as well. At least, when it comes to situations like this. Currently, her ear was stuck next to the door of the room where Rika and Kushina were in. The two girls couldn't stand waiting patiently outside.

"Can you hear something ?" Ara asked impatiently.

"Negative."

Her friend sighed as she approached her.

"Move a bit please, make me some place."

She made a hand gesture to ask Ru to step aside. She then proceed to imitate the blue eyed girl 'spying' gesture. Ru thought they must look ridiculous from the outside, trying to listen to other people conversation like this. After a minute or two, they heard footsteps coming close to the door. In a split of a second, they made three steps backward, standing next to each other, humming like innocent children.

Kushina came out with a gloomy face making them blink at each other curiously.

"Girls, I have a bad new for you…"

No way, that means ?!

"Impossible." Ara whispered.

"She's still refusing ?!" Ru snapped.

"Well… "

"Well ?" Her friend asked in haltes.

"Don't stop half way like that Kushina-san." Ru was almost begging.

The red head stared at them for a few seconds before starting to giggle.

"The bad new is ou girls are now in this for a long ride, you know !" She shouted.

Eh ? Both of them exchanged a confused look, making Kushina laugh even more.

"Who did you take me for ? Of course I made her accept !"

Their mouth formed an 'O' as their mind slowly grasped the new. Ru jumped on Ara for a hug. Unlike their first one, the black haired girl didn't freak out of surprise. On the contrary, she was hugging her back with a smile. The jônin patted on their heads and brought them both into a group hug. They did it !

First step done !

.

_Thirty minutes earlier._

Kushina was sitting in front of Rika, a cup of tea in her hands. They were alone in the room with their eyes on each other.

"You can't be serious Kushina." Rika said in disbelief.

"I am." The Uzumaki firmly answered as she sipped her tea. "Ara and Ru have the potential to become great kunoichis."

"Just because they can control chakra ?" The older woman frowned, tapping on the table with her fingers. "Please, you, more than anyone, should know being a shinobi isn't just about being good at ninjutsu."

Yes, as a superior ninja, she sure knows that. In the battlefield, raw talent isn't enough. In the middle of a death fight, you need to be mentally strong enough to bear the pressure. When leading a team, you need to be quick enough to figure out a solution. You need to be a lot of things to be a good ninja. But if you overlook the requiertments for missions, the thing you need the most as a ninja is maturity. One can not become a ninja if they don't understand its essence.

"And you, more than me, know they are more mature than regular children and already speak like grown up people." The red head said, returning the dark glare. "I did my own analysis you know. For me, they have everything fit to become a ninja."

She truly believed what she said. The girls showed a surprising maturity and a promising talent. Walking to the top of the hokage rock is nothing great. But when five years old children did it after only a week of self-training, it is _something_.

Rika was analysing her face, searching for a trace of doubt. Kushina only smiled back.

"You know I won't change my mind Kushina."

The red head was burning inside. When a kunoichi herself said someone can become a kunoichi, then that someone can become one. The older woman seems to not even considerate her opinion. And it is not like she is a mere genin. She knows the caretaker was once a kunoichi but gods, this woman sure is stubborn. Seeing that the jônin didn't answer, Rika continued.

"They aren't the only children I've refused and you know it. So why do you want to get involve now ?"

True, it wasn't the first time an orphan asked her about this matter. But none of them were as convincing as those two. Kushina also knows the reason behind Rika's constant refusal. The older woman quitted being a kunoichi after losing all her teammates during the Second shinobi war. It is not only because she doesn't want the orphans to get hurt. Rika believes she is helping the world by preventing new shinobis to be born.

Kushina didn't do anything to stop her. Because in a way, the caretaker isn't wrong. But something doesn't fit. Whether someone wants to become a shinobi or not, is not her choice to make.

"Because they _will_ attend that academy." She finally answered, raising her tone. "You refused their request, without a second thought. Whatever reasons you have, nothing justifies your behavior. Their lives aren't yours to live. What happened to you in the past, won't happen to them."

The reply destabilized Rika for a few seconds. The woman cleared her throat before asking.

"How can you be so sure ?"

"I just know it."

"How ?"

"They aren't any children. I'm sure you feel it too. Besides, I will make sure nothing ever happens to them."

It was more a promise to herself than an argument to win the debate. Rika wore an unreadable face before standing up and walked away to face the window. A silence fell between them. The red head was finishing her tea while the brown haired lady was watching the night fell on the residence playground.

"Even if I refuse, you will just adopt them and do the papers yourself, right ?"

"Of course."

She had that plan B in mind even before the beginning of the discussion. The caretaker released a defeat sigh.

"This is the first and last time Kushina."

The jônin grinned widely as she felt her competitor side being satisfied.

"Don't be so sure. Those two will surely impress you so much that you will end up having faith again."

.

Ara was mentally exhausted.

The whole submission process to the academy was tiring. Right after breakfast, Kushina overwhelmed Ru and her with papers to read, fill and sign. She told them they must finish everything within the day because, it was the last day, the dead line, for this year registration to the ninja formation program.

At first, nothing seemed problematic. Ru and her read the charter carefully before signing, like everyone should do. The most important points being you can get hurt badly during the trainings and, although it has never happened before, there is a risk of dying. All children who wish to go through the formation must agree to these terms and the village will hold no responsibility afterward.

After that, everything should've gone smoothly, they should've finished all the papers by lunch. But that was without counting every informations they needed to fill. All the informations they didn't have.

Age ? Right they are five, but what about their birthday date ? No idea, thanks amnesia. Rika and the jônin searched for all the records they could think about but they found nothing. The red head ended up giving them a random birthday. Ara's would be on the 11th November and Ru's would be on the 8th December.

Height and weight ? The orphanage doesn't have anything for that. A certification to prove they are in good physical and mental conditions ? Hello doctor. Sure, a medical visit sounded like nothing. But the waiting line was another matter. Because for some reasons, the hospital was _full_ today.

Parents' name ? Yes they are orphans, but the paper still asked for the names, even if they are dead. Asking the hokage for the records ? It would take the entire day (not like it wasn't already late afternoon at that point) to meet the man and to search for the informations. So they just left a blank. No family name sounded fine for both of them. Birth town ?... They tried to look at the maps of the western part of the land of fire. But they don't have enough details to find the right name. As long as they knew, the girls could come from any of those villages. The events were still new and there was no way the books always updated its informations.

At the end, they chose a random name, Kûki. If there are any problems with that, Kushina would deal with the academy herself. The most important thing is that they must finish the documents.

So were they done ? No, of course not. Even after running around the village for the entire day, they still missed something. The person in charge of the registration told them, with his sleepy voice, they needed to provide their identity photos. So now, they must go to the photographer, when the sun was already setting. That was the last straw for Kushina.

"_Listen now sir, I will not repeat myself. We will not go anywhere anymore. I know the academy owns a camera. So you will move your lazy ass to get it and take the damn photos right here and now, you know !"_

Ara knows a person is scary when even Ru got scared. The jônin looked like a demon. Her red hairs terribly accentuated her devilish aura and her gaze could kill a cat. The effects on the poor man were immediate. The photos were taken and their registrations were completed. All is well that ends well. And the black haired girl will need to remember to never anger the red head.

"Today was more tiring than any of our trainings !" Ru loudly shouted out with a relieved voice as she almost jumped on her bed.

"We are just unlucky."

"Talk for yourself. I'm a pretty lucky person on regular basic." Ara only shrugged, not believing her roommate at all. "Kushina-san is really amazing, don't you think so ?"

The question made Ara pause. Her first impressions on the jônin weren't great. She is too loud, sometime louder than children, too excited for everything, even the smallest detail and way too talkative. Right now, Kushina's personality is that of a child in an adult body. She is everything the girl finds annoying. Everything she _should_ find annoying. And that's the strange thing.

Ara never thought of Kushina as annoying.

"She is fine."

"Oh come on, admit that you like her as well. You are pretty nice with her."

Ru seemed to notice that too. She cursed her friend's insightful attitude. There isn't any logic to how she behaves around the woman. It is something stronger than the force of will. An unknown deep and buried feeling which draws her to the red headed.

"She feels warm." _Warm_. That's the good word to describe her feeling.

"What ?"

"I just feel warm around her." Around Kushina, she feels _warm_. As if she was welcomed. As if her present softens her. "She feels different. For me, she is like you. Someone's present I don't mind being around."

It is not only she doesn't mind. She definitively likes being around her.

"And how does she feel like ?" Ru asked with a puzzled face.

Like a mom ? No. Like a sister ? No. Like an aunt ? Maybe, but no. Like a relative ? Most likely.

"Family." Ara surprised herself by answering that. Her reply made the white haired girl cough out of shock.

"You think you're related ?"

_Related_ ?

The thought of a relative being alive had never cross her mind. The word just slipped out of her mouth. Even though, for all that she knows, they can be distant cousins. They can, for example, share the same great great grand-father. Or maybe Kushina is one of her parents distant cousins, anything in that line…

She shook her head.

No, it is impossible. Knowing the jônin, she would've make the remark when they learnt about their village name. Moreover, they look nothing alike, be it personality or appearance. Kushina is beautiful and Ara looks like your ordinary child next door. The family name, Uzumaki, never rings any bells to her either (even if it is not like something ever has).

Besides she feels the same warm toward Ru, even if it is not as strong and strange. Maybe there is something more, maybe-

"Before you start to space out, I'd like to take this opportunity to say good night." Ru broke her train of thought as she yawned. "And don't think too hard, you don't need a specific reason to appreciate someone."

Ara sighed at her advice. She already knew that. But it is not because she enjoys the woman as a person. She wants to understand why her subconscious is inexplicably drawn to the red haired woman. It even went as far as considering her as a relative.

Though, she wouldn't get any answers soon. Because there is no way she will just show up to Kushina and ask something like _"Hey, are we family ?"_. Letting out another sigh, she decided that she should just sleep and be happy that they finally made it to the academy.

"Good night."

.

"You know these areas are reserved for shinobis." Kushina teased after they reached the training ground.

She knows it is not really true. Everyone can use these wooden places. It is just unusual to see civilians around.

The jônin showed up this morning, for the third day in a row with her forever cheerful smile. She asked them to watch their training for her curiosity. She even brought them some snacks ! Sweets ones for Ru and some others with green tea flavor for Ara. The woman didn't care if the girls already had breakfast, they will train better if their stomach is full.

"You're the first shinobi I've seen here for the past two weeks, Kushina-san." Ru replied amusingly.

Kushina giggled. She already knew that. The eastern training grounds are the less used ones of all the village. Mainly because the ninjas want to avoid any troubles with the business around. However, a small detail in what the blue eyed girl said annoyed her. She had noticed it before but she hadn't thought about pointing it out."

"Kunoichi." The girls turned toward her with a confused look. Raising an eyebrow, she continued. "The right word to talk about a female ninja. You didn't learn that from those books you read ?"

"No." They replied together.

It was almost cute to see them shook their head at the same time. But Kushina felt angry. What kind of books have they read about shinobis to not know that word ? Either the books overlook kunoichis or the girls have bad memories. Knowing how people often underestimate her strength because she is a woman, the red head was sure it was the first guess.

"See this was one of the reasons why I wanted to become the first female Hokage. For the damn books to start respecting, _mentioning_, kunoichis more, you know !" She snapped with a clenched fist.

The orphans nodded, making the woman smiled proudly as she knew they understood her point. A short silence fell as the girls started to eat her home made biscuits.

"Kushina-san." Ru called her, capturing her attention. "Why do you want to see our training ?"

"You haven't guess it ? Because I will train you, you know !"

The children blinked a few times as Kushina left them the time to grasp her revelation.

"Really ?!" Ru's face beamed in happiness.

"And what would you do that ?." Ara frowned in disbelief.

"If you think you will become great kunoichis just by attending school, you're wrong you know ! I've set a new goal for myself too you know !" She grinned widely and gave them a thumb up before finishing. "To train you girls to be the best kunoichis of your generation believe it !"

The girls only glanced at each other. Ru replied with her own thumb up and Ara slightly nodded. She gave each of them a pat on their head before adding.

"We're going to start with hand seals. They are the basics of ninjutsus, you know it right ?"

"The signs you need to do to cast ninjutsus right ? Like the basic one we did to mold chakra into our feet." The blue eyed girl answered.

"Don't they serve as a bridge between the molding and the casting ? The one that allowed your molded chakra to turn into the attack you want."

Kushina happily nodded. It is always easier to explain when the targets already understand the basic.

"Exactly, you got the idea. Every jutsus has its own sequence of seals. The seals greatly helps the casting because they smooth the chakra transformation into the jutsu. Some experienced ninjas become really good at ninjutsus that they only need a single seal instead of the whole combinaison for a jutsu, or sometime no seal at all. For novices like you girls, they are a must to learn." She explained without pausing.

Releasing a deep breath, she felt proud of her description of the subject. She definitively can become an academy teacher one day. Or even a jônin sensei !

"I guess everything has a starting point." Ara said with a shrug. Unlike her, Ru's eyes were literally filled with stars as she shouted.

"Right ! So what do we start with ?"

.

For the third time since their new training started, Kushina was demonstrating the, what she called, twelve basic seals to know.

Except the jônin did everything way too fast. And Ru's memory isn't that great to begin with. It's been an hour and she can barely remember every seal name. Let alone doing them. Tiger, ox, dog, dragon, mouse and what ? Falcon ? Fox ?

Ah, screw her.

"This is the rat seal. You see how my hands are. Just copy it you know !"

So mouse seal doesn't even exist. It was _rat_. Ru rolled her eyes.

"But Kushina-san-" She started.

"It is Kushina-sensei for you now." The red head insisted as she raised a finger.

"Right, Kushina-sensei, how do we get to that point ?" Ru tried again.

"Can you show us the steps one by one ? And one seal at the time please." Ara asked, making Ru felt less lonely.

"Ok if it can help you. Start with the easiest one. The one you use for basic molding, like tree walk. It is the ram seal. You don't have any problems with that one right ?" Both children nodded, making the woman smile. "Just remember the name then. Now, let's move on to another one !"

The lesson pace was still fast but Ru was getting used to it. Some seals are pretty simple to do and some others are hard to create, like most things. There are two concepts to mastery in this lesson. The first one being the memory and the second one, the control over your left and your right. Indeed, you need to do them in the right sense. For example, for the ram seal, your left hand is on the top of your right one.

Ru found that the hardest to remember, more than the form or the name of the seals. It doesn't help that Kushina was teaching them their forms when she stood from the face. Meaning Ru needs to replicate her gestures in the other way around. Till now, she remembered only two. the ram and the boar. The last one is easy because you don't need to remember which hand needs to be on the top.

Their newly earned teacher left once she finished showing them all the twelve seals separately and briefly explained their usual uses. At first, the woman wanted to stay and watch them train. But the girls insisted they would be fine without supervising. But it wasn't easy to convince her. So Ru had to put on an act, promising her she wouldn't have to worry. Because by the end of the day, they will mastery everything.

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for Ara. The blue eyed girl knew her friend would probably learn everything faster because both of her sense and memory are better than Ru's. Besides, she already forgot most of them, except the ram and the boar. She sighed.

She should just ask Ara to help her with that. But no. She already lost to her in chakra control.

She shook her head.

'_I guess I will need that book.'_

.

Being a teacher feels great. Passing down your hard-earned knowledges to youngsters can make you really proud of yourself. Kushina has always loved being around children. She had several opportunities to teach some of them, not necessarily ninja matters. She remembered one mission she had a few years ago, where she had to give a rich merchand's daughter some self-defense lessons. It was a new experience and she, surprisingly, did it very well. The client even gave her additional paiement for the success.

But she never found the time or a real motivation to do so during her free time. It has always been trainings and other side hobbies, like cooking. Minato loves her cooking. For nothing in the world, she would toss that aside for another occupation.

Talking about her boyfriend, she had given up her dream to become hokage to support his very same dream. It was a surprise because giving up on it didn't feel as bad as she thought. She is still invested in her kunoichi career till now, as she understood that she doesn't need to be a kage to make a name for herself.

And now, she has a new objective.

It came to her mind yesterday after her talk with Rika. There are two ways to secure the safety of those two girls. The first being her watching over them every time of the day and everyday. Which is vastly impossible and something Kushina highly wanted to avoid. The second was them growing up to be strong so they can fend for themselves. The red head knows precisely the academy teaching won't be enough to turn them into strong ninjas. They will need side tutors and trainings. And she will help them with that.

Moreover, if they become great kunoichis, people will learn of her name as their sensei, too. They will respect her more and she will be very proud to have two great students.

The idea sounded perfect and she already began the first steps today.

"It is not usual to see you daydreaming." Minato called out for her as she startled in surprise.

She turned to face him with a smile. Since the children assured her they would be fine on their own, Kushina was free for the afternoon. And the blond man happened to be without charge today too. So they decided it was a good day to go out on a date, around the northern part of the village.

"I was thinking about my perfect goal I told you yesterday." Her answer made him giggled.

"I see." He replied with a warming look. "So how was your 'teaching' this morning ?"

"Great !" She said loudly. "You should've seen their cute faces when they nodded without questions to my explanation about hand seals. They understood everything and I felt so proud of myself, you know."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." He smiled fondly, happy to see his girlfriend's wide grin. "So you show them some seals ?"

"Yes, all of them. But-" She suddenly paused, remembering their confused faces even after several demonstrations. "At first, I feel like they didn't get everything. But they were good enough to ask nicely for me to show them one by one."

"You were probably doing everything too fast."

"You think so ?"

"They are new to all of this. When you're a teacher, you need to consider this fact and adapt your lessons to their ability to learn things." He replied calmly.

"Heh, you talk like you're ready to take a genin team soon." She tapped on his shoulder with a teasing smirk.

"I think it can be a very good experience." He said with a shrug. "I'm looking forward for the opportunity."

His answer made her smile. She took one of his hand in her own as they walk side by side around the streets. None of them talked along the way, taking their time to simply enjoy the walk and the sunlight. People like to think Kushina always talks and can't bare the silence because she is loud and outgoing. But even an extroverted person can learn to enjoy the calmness. Especially ninjas. There are enough noises and screams on the battlefield for people like them.

This part of the city is full of civilians and their habitations. The few ninjas who live here are those who don't belong to a clan. But they are still rare, as even clanless shinobis prefer moving to the southern part to be close to their fellow comrades. Something Minato calls 'practical' and 'time saving'. After all, they both decided to live in the southern area for those reasons.

"They promised me they would remember the twelve basic ones by the end of the day. I know they will make it." She said, breaking the silence. Her boyfriend glanced at her, didn't expect the sudden conversation.

"You're really into those children, aren't you ?"

"Of course, I already told you. I really like them and they are definitively interesting believe it !"

For some reasons, the blond looked puzzled.

"It is not only because the hokage personally asked you to be nice with them right ?" He asked.

Kushina almost forgot about that. A few days ago when she visited the orphanage and met her students. The hokage asked to see her and told her about the girls' situation. According to him, they share the same situation. The red head once lost her hometown, family and friends as well. She was able to find refuge in the leaf because Uzushio and Konoha were long time allies. Same story can be applied to the children's present here. They are from an ally village to Konoha, although the old man refused to share the name. For a '_classified_' reason.

"I already found them interesting before the Third requested it." She ended up replying. " One of them is-"

"Yes, yes. One of them is a really adorable child and the other is mysteriously appealing to you." He cut her, saying the exact things she wanted to say. "Sorry you already told me that at least three times."

She pouted. He winked at the sight, definitively not looking sorry. Speaking about that, she felt like she was missing something. Something she said she can do but she forgot about it…

Her mouth widened as she thought about her discussion with the girls at the ramen stand.

"Ah ! Talking about the hokage, I just remember I told them I can arrange a meeting between them and the Third !"

Minato seemed lost at her revelation.

"Why do they want to meet him ?"

.

After a week, Ru got used to the calm dinner in the corner of the room. Sometime she would leave Ara alone and join the others. The girl doesn't mind if Ru doesn't eat with her. They have their own way to relax and to spend their time. Ara enjoys being alone with a tea cup and a book while Ru prefers talking with the children around a table with a bag of sweets. They are understanding toward each other and that is what Ru loves the most about their friendship.

Sure, she felt bad at first because she still wants to help (more like push) her friend to, at least, get along with the other orphans. But all the trainings and the whole academy stuffs kept them both busy, leaving her little time to plan another encounter like the last one.

And right now, her mind was occupied with something else.

"Dragon, tiger, rat, ram, ox" She whispered, realizing the seals. "Bird, serpent, dog, boar, monkey, horse and-" She paused, her memory slipped again.

"Hare." Ara helped. Ru sent her an annoyed pout. "You're still repeating them."

"Of course." She shouted. "I know them all but I still feel like I can mixte them up anytime."

"So we were lucky earlier when you didn't fail one of them in front of Kushina-sensei." Ara teased with a smirk.

Ru would normally laugh at how Ara already got used to call Kushina 'sensei'. But the stress and pressure from learning all the seals shoot off a part of her cheerfulness.

"I told you I'm pretty lucky on regular basic." She said with a sigh. After all, the girl didn't believe her the first time she said it. Even if it was understandable.

"Take it easy." The other girl advised. "We have a bigger matter to care about." Ru tried to think about what Ara meant but she couldn't remember anything. Seeing her confused look, the black haired girl added. "We have a meeting with the Hokage in three days. What's wrong with your memory today ?"

Ah.

Gods, she was so focused on perfecting the seals she forgot about the most important new of the day. Kushina came earlier to inform them that she arranged them a meeting with the hokage. If it wasn't for Ara's big mouth, she wouldn't even check if they learned all their seals.

That means she will need to prepare a list of questions. More pressures and more works to do. No maybe not necessary. Ara will surely do that part. Ru only needs to ask for the records of her family and pictures of her village. Her good mood seemed to come back at that thought.

"I think my memory is probably not that good to start with." She replied with a laugh."That makes me think that my amnesia isn't even one !"

She chuckled even more when she saw her friend's dark glare.

"Don't even joke about it."

.

Kushina arrived to their training ground later than usual. The red head got a new mission today and would be leaving in an hour. It was bound to happen. Ara would be surprised if a superior kunoichi like Kushina would be available to meet them everyday.

"Understand ? I will be away for a week. I borrowed a few scrolls from the ninja library. You will start with taijutsu lessons." The red head said as she handed them over.

"Isn't that a waste ?" The girl asked. Kushina stared at her curiously before she added. "We learnt hand seals yesterday. Shouldn't we keep going for ninjutsu ?"

The jônin's face switched into a thoughtful one for a second. Then she proceed to nod happily.

"Good remark !" She shouted out as she patted on Ara's head. "In a normal situation yes, it would be wiser to take advantage of that fact. But the academy is going to start in a less than two weeks and you girls don't have any bases for taijutsu. To make you the best students in the academy, I need to have all your bases covered." She grinned proudly, making Ara sigh while Ru's eyes gleamed like stars.

"You still can keep training with your chakra control and your seals of course. Everything becomes easier with time and experience you know !" The woman added. "I'll be going now. You better work hard !"

She wavered her hand for a goodbye before disappearing in a blink.

Ara and Ru shared an understanding nod as they opened the first scroll together.

The informations were pretty basic. Taijutsu stands for 'Body techniques' as it refers to martial arts as a fighting style. It is, to simply put, the hand-to-hand combat, meaning the art itself only requires the user to have a good physical condition. Taijutsu is effective and quicker to use than any other arts. And as it mostly doesn't demand any chakra use nor hand seals, it is also the most common and used art.

So to be short, taijutsu is a must for every ninjas.

The next part of the scroll taught them a lot of basic moves to learn and the specific trainings to increase the the body strength. Ara thought it was a good thing, because physical trainings would enhance both her strength and chakra reserve.

"Finally something I would love to do !" Ru shouted out, making her startle out of surprise.

"You love hand-to-hand combat ?"

"Of course ! It is the most exciting thing to perform and watch ! Also I enjoy physical trainings a lot." "Unlike someone here." She added with a smirk.

"I don't hate it. I just... prefer meditation." Ara lied uncomfortably.

"Yes sure. Now if you don't mind I will start my trainings now."

"We haven't read everything yet."

"We know the basic moves we need to learn. It's a good start already." "We can read the rest later !"

Ara sighed. Ru can be such a hot-head sometime. She watched Ru disappearing in the woods and returned to her reading. She didn't want to miss an important detail before starting to train.

.

"98, 99, 100 fists." Ru was talking out loud to herself as slamming noises can be heard. "Now for the kicks. 1, 2, 3, 4… "

Ara was watching the white-haired girl hitting the wooden post relentlessly while she was laying against a tree, trying to catch her breathe. Her stare was incredulous. Ru had been training intensively since the start of the afternoon. And right now, even after hours, her roommate was still training without any signs of exhaustion. When Ara herself was at her limit and thought about nothing but a long and good night sleep.

She still remembered how _hard_ it was to climb that hokage rock. She had her fear of height to thank more than her pride. It was what kept her moving up even when all her entire body was in pain. Because she knew if she stopped, she would've fall. So, sure, she is not the best when it comes to endurance. But there has to be a limit for a five years old body !

"Stand up lazy !" Ru shouted as she walked toward her. "Let's have a spar !"

This is bad. Her body isn't ready for this now. Earlier in the day would be more than fine. Besides they only started to train their body for basic moves, they don't know how to coordinate everything yet.

That would make a good excuse.

"Calm down." She cleared her throat, trying to sound as usual. "We don't know any good and advanced moves yet to make a good spar. Let's do that when we finish to learn everything on those scrolls alright ?"

"Man, I was so excited to finally have a hand-to-hand fight. But I guess you're right ! Let's do it when we learn more moves !"

Ara felt relieved. It's a good thing Ru is not only bad at lying but also bad at recognizing a lie. Or it is actually her who is good with lyings in general. And that is not something flattering.

"Yes, let's call it a day. Aren't you hungry ?"

.

Ru isn't just a beast when it comes to trainings. It didn't take Ara long to realize that her friend is just good in taijutsu as a whole. For the first time since they started their kunoichi training, Ara struggled. It is weird that she felt left behind. Ru picked up every moves fairly easily. She has a naturally good reflex and flow. Meanwhile she, herself, is stiff as a tree.

Ara learnt that yesterday when they finally spared. She was beaten hard, like really badly. Ru even jumped around out of joy, happy to be better than her at something. The black haired girl didn't really mind it. She knew she would catch up one day. At least, she thinks she would.

However, it isn't her main concern this morning. Today is the big day.

One of their goals will see its end. The meeting with the hokage is about to happen.

The building isn't that impressive to the eyes, from near or far. It is a round shaped construction and, despite being one of the tallest, is not _that_ tall. Its location, next to the hokage rock, gives it its only trace of prestige. The receptionist checked their name upon their arrival. After the confirmation, she allowed them to pass, indicating them the third and last floor.

Ara felt a knot in her stomach as they walked. Her mind was dizzy as her head tried to organize what questions she will ask and how she would try to smooth the meeting. Meanwhile, Ru was humming happily, eyes full of stars. She could almost hear what was in her friend's mind. Probably something like _'I can't wait to see what my parents looked like !'_. The picture of the blue eyed girl's happiness made her lighten up a bit.

"You're too tense." Ru hissed, noticing her nervousness. "What can be wrong ? The man is the head of the village, he surely will answer everything right ?"

Normally yes. But for some reasons, she had a bad feeling.

"Last time you said something like that, Rika refused our request." She retorted as they arrived in front of the hokage office.

"Come on, cheer up. Remember I'm lucky on-"

"Regular basic." She cut sharply, making Ru pout, as always. "Yes, yes. Now let's go."

Ara opened the door for them. The man in front of them isn't exactly what she imagined. She had always pictured the hokage as a tall man in his thirties, with a few wrinkles and kind eyes. The person she faced is an old man, in his fifties maybe, with a strict face. In fact, Ara felt the pressure of his glare on her to the point of shivering.

"Good morning hokage-sama." Ru shouted out making her startle. Apparently, the man didn't have the same effect on her friend. "I'm Ru and this is my friend Ara. We came to Konoha a month ago. And we are-well… " She seemed to hesitate. Ara cursed them for not preparing this meeting better.

"Kushina already told me about you." He spoke up for the first time. "I'm glad you appreciate her. She shares the same story as you girls. We're always better with others than alone."

Ara don't know about that. From her observation, Kushina acts like a normal person with a normal life. But she can't be sure about anything. The jônin never talks about her life.

"Did Kushina-sensei have amnesia ?" Ru asked.

"No. Her story is not mine to tell." He answered, hinting that their sensei definitively had a tough life. "Anyway, we're not here to talk about her. I heard you have questions to ask, I will do my best to answer you."

It is the moment. Finally they can have their answers. She cleared her throat and made a step forward.

"What happened to our village ? How comes your village welcome us, strangers, so easily ? And why does no one know about these answers ?" She asked stressfully in a row.

The old man's expression became thoughtful, making Ara sweat under the unbearable silence. She had wanted the answers to these questions for as long as she could remember. And now she may get them.

"I will try my best to answer you." He finally said. Both girls looked up to him without a blink. "However, you must know that I can't reveal everything as I would wish I can. For example, I can't tell you the name of your village." He paused, glancing at them as they looked confused by the information.

"The only thing I can assure you is that your village and Konoha were very good allies. Its lost saddens us very much. Welcoming you girls in the Leaf was the less we could do for our long time friendship. The other details were classified as S-rank secrets. That's why not even jônins like Kushina know about it."

She took a moment to fully grasp everything.

Ara was sure she understood everything. But her mind became bland and she couldn't think of anything to ask, or to think about.

Shit.

"But-" Ru tried to say something, but nothing came out.

"The only time I am willing to share this type of information with someone will be when I am convinced that the person's greatest interest is Konoha well-being."

Is this a threat ? No. A warning ? Not really. A blackmail ? Kind of. A manipulation attempt ? Sure is.

What a way to say _'Hey just become great killing tools for us to discover what happened to you !'_. Ara clenched her fists. She was burning in anger.

"So, does this also mean you don't have any records of our family ?" Ru's voice captured her attention back to reality. It was broken. The old man only closed his eyes as an answer. "I just want to see how they looked like… " She sounded like she was about to crack.

Ara didn't know why but her heart ached at that pitiful sight of her friend. It was the first time the white haired girl looked so defeated and her blue eyes were getting teary. She felt an urge to go up against the man, to at least get Ru the only thing she wanted. But she retained herself at the end, knowing it is no use. Because she is too weak, too insignifiant right now to change anything. Ara pulled her roommate for a hug as she made them bow to the hokage. There was nothing else to talk about. The old man sighed as they took their leave.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Ara wondered if he really was.

.

The days after the meeting were hard for both of them.

Ara was easily irritated by anything, even the smallest details and Ru was awkwardly quiet. They spent all their time in trainings, trying to evacuate their emotions through their fists. Ru isn't the smart type. But you don't need to be a genius to understand that, right now, she was feeling depressed.

It is a weird case. At the beginning, she barely felt any emotions or any sadness when thinking about her lost. She only wanted to know what she wanted to for her curiosity and mostly, her sense of righteousness.

Maybe she was just in denial this whole time, hiding behind a cheerful face, pretending not to notice. The hokage refusal, in an odd way, made her realize she lost everything. And there is no way she would be able to recover them.

It was also strange. To feel grief for something you don't even remember. Something you have known for a month already. So, why does she only feel bad now ? It was so unpredictable.

But, even though she is morose right now. She knew the sorrow will eventually go away.

.

Ara always asks too many questions.

But even when a lot of questions bother her, she never feels the constant urge to explode because of the lack of answers. She only felt anger since that conversation. The rage got up so high in her mind that she even came to enjoy hitting a wooden post. Because there is no way she can meditate at her current state of mind.

She tried to understand the reasons of the anger.

It is funny because she understands the hokage's reasons to hide the truth. The man's first priority is the village. If it is a S-rank secret it must be something which can put Konoha in danger. She would have done the same at his place.

Maybe it was because she really believed he would give an answer for everything. She felt like all the efforts she made to become a kunoichi earned her every answers. Maybe that was where it went wrong. He never owns them anything. In fact, they are the ones who are in dept.

Yes, that was it.

She was just naive to expect something for an idea she made up herself.

.

Her mission was successful. It was a B rank escort type where the jônin needed to guard a noble on his way back to his village. Those kind of missions are usually boring. So fortunately for her, it wasn't a long trip.

She returned yesterday and took a good time to rest. And this morning, she was excited to see how her newly found students progressed. But she certainely didn't expect to see them looking up to her with dark circles under their eyes.

"You two look like you haven't sleep well lately."

"I believe it is obvious." The black haired girl said, wearing her usual neutral look.

It wasn't just Ara who is all gloomy today. Ru who is usually bright also looks dull.

Only one thing could happen during her absence.

"How did it go with the hokage ?" The woman asked.

"Our village story is classified as S-rank secret. So we're as clueless as ever." Ru said with an unusual monotonous voice.

"Unless if we become worthy of his trust." The other girl added.

Kushina's expression became thoughtful. She started to understand their somber attitude. But she didn't get Ara's answer. The girl talked as if they weren't going to be great ninjas, high in the hierachy in several years.

"So what's the problem ?" The red head asked. She noticed the puzzled face they made upon the question. "Isn't it your goal from the start ? To become kunoichis worth of praises and fames."

She let the silence fell as her words hit them. For a moment, only the sound of the morning breeze could be heard. She observed them as their eyes slowly widened in grasp. The jônin chuckled. As smart as they are for their age, it was as if they didn't think about that outcome. Ara finally sighed in defeat while Ru just grinned in shame.

Kushina knew that they got the idea.

"Now get up ! I have to see your taijutsu skills now. I hope getting that moody didn't interfere with your training."

"It actually helped me." Ara shrugged, making Ru laugh.

She smiled, relieved to see their moods lightened up.

.

Ara was breathing heavily.

After days of being lost, weeks of tiring trainings (especially the taijutsu one) and the emotional roller coaster during the last month, today is the big day.

Ru was oddly sweating.

After days of being a child, weeks of exciting exercices (except that tree walk) and the deception of the year two weeks ago, today is the d-day.

As they stepped outside the orphanage, a shout in chorus was directed toward them.

"Good luck !"

They turned around, surprised to see all the orphans surrounding them. The gesture made Ru giggle, happy to have their support. Sachiko moved forward and took them in a hug, much to Ara's displeasure.

"You're the first ones Rika allowed to attend the academy." She said, releasing them from her grip. "Make us proud."

The caretaker appeared, making her way pass the door. She gave them a small smile before nodding her head, a sign for them to get going. Their relationship didn't improve as no side has ever tried to fix anything. But the girls know how to behave for the necessary and Rika knows how to act.

As they got close to the unmistakable building with its red roof, a crowd of people could be seen. Ara started to feel uncomfortable and Ru felt it. The white haired girl took her friend's hand in her own and grinned widely.

They both had the same thought at that moment.

'_And so it started.'_

.

**Author's note:** There it goes, my most inconsistent chapter. I don't know what to think. I am still experiencing with my writing style. I tried to write with three main characters in mind, switching povs between them as I feel like I can't write omniscient pov to save my life.

Maybe I should just keep it to one main character and write the other MCs pov when really needed. I will still need to choose between Ara and Ru.

Still hope it was readable. Ty for your time.


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